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A HISTORY OF 
THE ADTRONDACKS 

Volume II 




PAUL SMITH. SR. 



A HISTORY OF 
THE ADIRONDACKS 



BY 

ALFRED L. DONALDSON 



llludtrated 




Volume II 



NEW YORK 

THE CENTURY CO. 

1921 



Copyright, 1921, by 
The Century Co. 



MAY 27 1921 



'^/o ^^ yia 



CONTENTS 

XXX John Brown at North Elba 3 

XXXI Adirondack Lodge 23 

XXXII Keene Valley 29 

XXXIII Old Mountain Phelps 53 

XXXIV Long Lake (33 

XXXV Mitchel Sabattis 81 

XXXVI Raquette Lake — Blue Mountain Lake 88 

XXXVII Alvah Dunning 105 

XXXVIII "Ned Buntline" " US 

XXXIX Old Military Roads 123 

XL Railroads 131 

XLI Santa Clara and Brandon in the Lime-light .... 142 

XLII Lumbering 150 

XLIII The Adirondack League Club 159 

XLIV Legislative Control 1(33 

Appendices 
A Indian Grant to Totten and Crossfield . . . .257 
B Historical Notes of the Settlement on No. 4, 

Brown's Tract 260 

C The Adirondacks 271 

D Editorial from "New York Times" 280 

E List of Highest Adirondack Peaks 283 

F Heights of the Lesser Adirondack Peaks , . . 283 

G Trees of the Adirondacks 284 

H A List of Adirondack Mammals 286 

I Weather Data — Lake Placid Club 287 

J List of Adirondack Birds 291 

K Some "Firsts" 296 

Bibliography 299 

Index 355 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Paul Smith, Sr Frontispiece 

FACING 
PAGB 

"Cone" Flander's House 17 

John Brown's Farm 17 

Adirondack Lod^fe 32 

'^Old Mountain" Phelps 56 

Mitchell Sabottis 81 

Camp Pine Knot on Raquette Lake 96 

Alvah Dunning 113 

Placid Village and Mirror Lake in foreground; Lake Placid and White- 
face Mountain beyond 128 

Clear Lake, since re-named Heart Lake 145 

View west from above Tahawus (Mt. Marey) 160 

MAPS AND DIAGRAMS 

Organization of the Conservation Department, January 1, 1912 . . . 248 
Chart showing the organization of the Conservation Commission, 1915 . 248 
Map showing the Watersheds of the Principal Rivers and Resen'oir Sites 249 



A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 



A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

CHAPTER XXX 
JOHN BROWN AT NORTH ELBA 

THE great abolitionist John Brown linked his name 
with the Adirondacks by settling in the Town of North 
Elba in 1849, and making it his nominal home and head- 
quarters until the Harper's Ferry raid and his subsequent 
death in 1859. His now historic farm is about three miles 
from the village of Lake Placid to-day, but then, of course, 
there was no village nor promise of one. The surrounding 
country was a sparsely settled wilderness. 

Gerrit Smith, the wealthy emancipationist of New York, 
had inherited vast tracts of land from his father. Some of 
these were in Essex County and in the Town of North Elba. 
In 1846 Mr. Smith had thrown open one hundred thousand 
acres of his wild lands to such colored people, fugitive slaves 
in particular, as would settle upon small tracts and cultivate 
them into farms. Considerable land was taken up, but mostly 
in other parts of the State, for Gerrit Smith's enormous hold- 
ings lay in over fifty counties. The Adirondack wilderness, 
for obvious reasons, was the least attractive and least suited 
to the negro. Its very wildness and remoteness, however, of- 
fered a certain security from the slave-hunter, and so by 1848 
a few families had settled there. Others were later brought 
to the spot by means of the underground railway, of which 
North Elba became a sort of side-track station. As a negro 
colony it was a failure and soon dwindled away. 

About this time John Browm heard of Gerrit Smith's scheme 
and the incipient North Elba colony, and it appealed strongly 
to his sympathies. In 1848 he called on Mr. Smith, offered 
to take up a farm in the settlement, and help its development 



4 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

by guidance and example. Mr. Smith was quick to see the 
value of such a man and such services, and a deal was soon 
made. 

I quote the following from F. B. Sanborn's well-known 
''Life and Letters of John Brown," a book in which the 
minutest details will be found of those outside events which 
are here briefly summarized: 

Brown purchased a farm or two, obtained the refusal of others, 
and in 1848-49, he removed a part of his family from Springfield 
(Mass.) to North Elba, where they remained much of the time between 
1849 and 1864, and where they lived when he was attacking slavery in 
Kansas, in Missouri, and in Virginia. Besides the other inducements 
which this rough and bleak region offered him, he considered it a 
good refuge for his wife and younger children, when he should go on 
his campaign ; a place where they would not only be safe and inde- 
pendent, but could live frugally, and both learn and practise those 
habits of thrifty industry which Brown thought indispensable in the 
training of children. "When he went there his youngest son, Oliver, 
was ten years old, and his daughters, Anna and Sarah, were six and 
three years old. Ellen, his youngest child, was born afterwards. 

John Brown married twice and had several children by 
each wife — twenty in all, eight of whom died in infancy. The 
older boys by the first marriage remained in Ohio when their 
father moved East, and never lived on the North Elba farm. 

The scenic beauty surrounding his Adirondack home made 
a deep appeal to Brown. Lying in the center of a wide 
plateau, it commanded a panoramic view of distant moun- 
tains, trenching the horizon. The mountains have always 
been a symbol of freedom, and their lofty message probably 
never went straighter home than to the lofty soul of this lone 
man. Who shall gage the part they played in the meditative 
pauses that alternated with periods of aggressive action? 
That it was not negligible there is ample proof, and his grow- 
ing love for the spot culminated in the desire to be buried 
there. 

Browm moved his family and his few household goods to 
the mountains in an ox-drawn cart. The women and the chat- 
tels were in the wagon, and the men walked beside it. This 
cart, built in Ohio, was a huge boxlike affair, hung between 



JOHN BROWN AT NORTH ELBA 5 

two enormous wheels nearly five feet in diameter, and having 
tires four inches wide. One of these wheels, in excellent 
preservation, may be seen at the Lake Placid Club. 

Brown also brought to North Elba a herd of very fine Devon 
cattle, which he exhibited at the annual cattle-show of Essex 
County. The Annual Report of the Agricultural Society for 
1850, said: 

The appearance upon the grounds of a number of very choice and 
beautiful Devons, from the herd cff Mr. John Brown, residing in one 
of our most remote and secluded towns, attracted great attention, and 
added much to the interest of the fair. The interest and admiration 
they excited have attracted public attention to the subject, and have 
already resulted in the introduction of several choice animals into this 
region. 

The Browns' first home in North Elba was a little house 
which they rented from a man called "Cone" Flanders, and in 
1920 it was still standing. Brown's eldest daughter Ruth, in 
one of her letters, writes of it as follows : 

The little house of Mr. Flanders, which was to be our home, was the 
second house we came to after crossing the mountain from Keene. 
It had one good-sized room below, which answered pretty well for 
kitchen, dining-room, and parlour; also a pantry and two bedrooms; 
and the chamber furnished space for four beds — so that whenever "a 
stranger or wayfaring man ' ' entered our gate, he was not turned away.. 

By the "chamber" was meant the unfinished attic or second 
stor>'. This small house sheltered a family of nine, one or 
more colored helpers, and occasional guests. The nine in the 
family were Mr. and Mrs. Brown, four sons — Owen, "Watson, 
Salmon, and Oliver — and three daughters, Ruth, Anna, and 
Sarah. Ruth was the eldest, and soon married Henry Thomp- 
son of North Elba. The Thompsons were among the earhest 
settlers in the region. They came from New Hampshire. 
They were a large family, mostly boys, and owned among 
them nearly one thousand acres. Two of the brothers were 
later killed at Harper's Ferry. The gap in the Brown family 
caused by Ruth's marriage was soon filled by the birth of 
another daughter Ellen. 

The Browns lived in the Flanders house for two years, and 



6 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

this was the only protracted stay that John Brown made in 
North Elba. After that he made only short and infrequent 
visits to his family there. During these two years he devoted 
himself to the objects which had drawn him to the spot, but 
there is no doubt that he soon became comanced that Gerrit 
Smith's dream of founding a negro colony in the mountains 
was pure chimera. As a matter of fact, of course, the at- 
tempt to combine an escaped slave with a so-called Adiron- 
dack farm was about as promising of agricultural results as 
would be the placing of an Italian lizard on a Norwegian ice- 
berg. 

The farms allotted to the negroes consisted of forty acres 
each, but the natural gregariousness of the race tended to de- 
feat the purpose of these individual holdings. The darkies be- 
gan to build their shanties in one place, instead of on their 
separate grants. Before long about ten families had huddled 
their houses together down by the brook, not far from where 
the White Church now stands. The shanties were square, 
crudely built of logs, with flat roofs, out of which little stove- 
pipes protruded at varying angles. The last touch of pure 
negroism was a large but dilapidated red flag that floated 
above the settlement, bearing the half-humorous, half-pathetic 
legend "Timbuctoo" — a name that was applied to the whole 
vicinity for several years. 

Here occasionally, always over night, new faces appeared 
and disappeared — poor hunted fugitives seeking the greater 
safety of the Canadian line. Those who stayed permanently 
were roused to spasmodic activity by Bro^^^l, who induced 
them to work for him or some of his scattered neighbors. But, 
unless directed by him, they did nothing for themselves or for 
their own land. It is no wonder, therefore, that he became dis- 
couraged over this particular experiment. It closed, as far as 
he was concerned, in 1851. 

In March of that year he moved his family back to Akron, 
0., and even took the herd of Devon cattle with him. This 
step was not solely the result of his disappointments at North 
Elba. It was taken mainly on account of protracted lawsuits 
growing out of his failure in the wool business, which required 
his presence in different parts of the country. It took several 



JOHN BROWN AT NORTH ELBA 7 

years to wind up the complications resulting from his Perkins 
& BrowTi partnership, and it was not till the summer of 1855 
that he was free to carry out his desire of taking his family 
back to North Elba. 

This time they took possession of a half-finished house — the 
present memorial building — which Henry Thompson, Ruth 
Brown's husband, had partially prepared for them on one of 
the farms Brown had contracted to buy. This house was a 
very primitive and crudely built affair. It contained but 
four rooms, and only two of them were plastered. It re- 
mained in this unfinished condition and in obvious disrepair 
until after John Bro^vn's death. It was at best a leaky, 
drafty, cheerless shelter, and would have been considered un- 
inhabitable by any less inured to hardship and discomfort. 

John Brown remained only long enough to see his family 
settled, and the house stocked with a few provisions. He 
then set out for the Kansas border. He had freed himself 
from the shackles of business only to embroil himself more 
completely in the anti-slavery struggle. His life became 
henceforth that of a roving and restless agitator in a righteous 
cause. Of his grown sons only Watson, then in his twentieth 
year, remained with the women folk at North Elba. John Jr., 
Jason, Ow«n, Oliver, Frederick, and Salmon, with their 
brother-in-law Henry Thompson, had gone out to Kansas and 
settled near the little hamlet of Osawatomie. Hei^e the father 
joined them and soon began playing his conspicuous part in 
the border skirmishes there. In May, 1856, occurred the '^Pot- 
tawatomie massacre," and on the thirtieth of the following 
August occurred the third fight at Osawatomie, which has 
linked the name of that little place forever with John Brown. 
It was not a victory, however. With a handful of men he shot 
into a larger attacking force, and did some damage. But after 
that he was forced to retreat, and the attackers burnt the vil- 
lage. 

In April of 1857 Brown returned once more to North Elba, 
after an absence of two years. On his way he stopped at 
Canton, Conn., and took from the family plot there an old 
tombstone belonging to his grandfather. This cumbersome 
slab he transported all the way to his Adirondack farm, and 



8 A HISTORY OF THE ADIEONDACKS 

placed it where he desired his own grave to be — near a huge 
granite boulder, not far from the house. On one side of the 
boulder, near the foot of what became his grave, he indicated 
its location by cutting the letters *' J. B." with his own hands, 
before starting on his last adventure. 

On the reverse of the ancestral tombstone he inscribed the 
epitaph of his son Frederick, as ^'murdered at Osawatomie 
for his adherence to the cause of freedom/' The face of 
the slab bears the following inscription: *'In Memory of 
Cap*" John Brown, who died at New York, Sept. ye 3, 1776, in 
the 48th year of his Age." Beneath this there later ap- 
peared: *'John Brown, born May 9, 1800, was executed at 
Charlestown, Va., Dec. 2, 1859"; and at the very bottom of 
the slab: ** Oliver Brown, bom Mar. 9, 1839, was killed at 
Harper's Ferry." Many years la«ter, in October, 1882, the 
bones of Watson Brown found their final resting-place in the 
same spot. And later still, as we shall see, the remains of 
others who fell at Harper's Ferry were placed beside their 
leader in the North Elba burial plot. 

In 1886 Colonel Francis L. Lee of Boston took a skilled 
stone-cutter with him to the Bro\vn farm, and had him cut in 
large, deep letters ''John Brown, 1859," on the granite boul- 
der that billows near the grave. The rock was so hard and 
flinty that it took several days to complete this simple inscrip- 
tion. 

After 1857 John Brown's reappearances in North Elba were 
few and far between. Several times he wrote of having the 
inclination and the time to come, but of lacking the money. 
'\\nien the means were available, he usually made the journey 
by boat to Westport, and there hired a horse, on which he rode 
the forty miles to his farm. Ono winter, his funds being very 
low, he attempted the journey on foot, and nearly perished 
from cold and exhaustion on the way. After that he always 
used a horse, and kept him till the return trip was made. 
This animal was something of a curiosity in a settlement which 
knew only the ox as a beast of burden. The presence of the 
horse, moreover, announcing as it did the presence of John 
BrowTi, seemed to heighten the atmosphere of the unusual that 
surrounded this strange man. The older men knew all about 



JOHN BROWN AT NORTH ELBA 9 

Mm, of course, but to the younger generation he was an object 
of both awe and mystery. His name was vaguely linked for 
them with far-off deeds of bloodthirstiness, and his sudden 
comings and goings added the last touch of romance to his 
austere personality. 

When he moved his family back to North Elba in 1855, he 
appears to have raised the necessary money by selling such 
cattle as he then owned. After that he engaged in no money- 
making enterprise, and received his support entirely from his 
anti-slavery friends. In view of this, and the fact that his 
business failure left him heavily in debt, it is not surprising to 
leani that he had not paid for the land he had contracted to 
buy from Gerrit Smith. The money to do this was contributed 
by some of his friends, who put their names to the following 
subscription paper in July, 1857 : 

The family of Captain John Brown, of Osawatomie, have no means 
of support, owing to the oppression to which he has been subjected in 
Kansas Territory. It is proposed to put them (his wife and five chil- 
dren) in possession of the means of supporting themselves, so far as is 
possible for persons in their situation. 

One thousand dollars was raised. It was immediately ex- 
pended by Mr. Sanborn in clearing the title to the Brown and 
Thompson farms, and deeds were then given to Mrs. Brown 
and to Mrs. Thompson. When John Brown, who was then in 
Iowa, heard of this act, he wrote a letter full of gratitude, in 
which he speaks of being ''comforted with the feeling that my 
noble-hearted wife and daughters will not be driven either to 
beg or become a burden to my poor boys, who have nothing 
but their hands to begin with." 

The Browns often for long periods had literally not a penny 
in the house. The girls would pick berries and sell them to 
their neighbors, with the avowed purpose of securing a little 
fund to pay the postage on the letters to their father. Colonel 
Higginson, in writing of a visit to the farm, says he found 
Mrs. Browm worrying over a large tax that was coming due. 
It finally developed that the appalling amount was less than 
ten dollars, but Mrs. Brovm felt quite hopeless of getting such 
a sum together. The inference is that Colonel Higginson 



10 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

advanced it. He also mentions the fact that he found the little 
colony considered Oliver Brown's widow— a young girl of 
sixteen — far from destitute, because she had been left five 
sheep worth two dollars apiece! 

Such were the monetary conditions at North Elba. It fol- 
lows that the life of the Browns was austerely frugal. From 
all accounts they had enough to eat, but their fare was of the 
simplest. It came from their owm and the neighboring farms, 
or from occasional supplies that John Brown sent in or 
brought with him. Ruth, in some of her letters, insists— with 
a somewhat pathetic touch of womanly pride — that they al- 
ways had a cloth upon the table. She does not hesitate to 
admit, however, that she, her mother, and her sisters had only 
such woolen clothes to wear as they themselves could spin. 

Despite all their hardships and privations the Browns were 
a united and contented family. One and all reflected the fa- 
ther's unselfish idealism, and looked upon the attendant sacri- 
fices as foreordained for those devoted to a great cause. 
They shared the spirit of that high puri')Ose and stern intent, 
whose undercurrent was always setting toward some vague, 
far-off event, that ultimately came in the half-foolish, half- 
divine attack at Harper's Ferry. 

Many of the local details for this chapter were given to me 
by a friend and neighbor Mr. Thomas Peacock, who was 
born and bred at North Elba, on a farm adjoining John 
Brown's. Mr. Peacock played and went to school with the 
BrowTi children, and saw a good deal of the family. He was 
a mere boy at the time, of course, but there was something 
mysterious and apart about these new neighbors that left 
many distinct impressions on his youthful mind. 

One of the most vivid and interesting of these was having 
seen John Brown take his departure from North Elba for the 
last time. Young Peacock had been taken to the Henry 
Thompson house by his father, where a few of the leading men 
in the settlement were gathered. The boy was told to sit 
quietly in one corner of the room, while his father joined the 
other men and conversed with them in subdued tones. Occa- 
sionally one of them would step to the open door and look out, 
as if expecting another arrival. It was a mild, pleasant eve- 



JOHN BROWN AT NORTH ELBA 11 

iiing in June, with the distant mountains fading very slowly 
into the soft-lipped night. Some time elapsed and the shad- 
ows had deepened, before the tread of an approaching horse 
was heard. A few moments later John Brown entered the 
room. He was greeted very quietly, and, standing, began 
talking in undertones to the men that gathered about him. 
The conference did not seem to last more than ten or fifteen 
minutes, then he shook hands and said a solemn but not linger- 
ing good-by to each one present. One of the men followed 
him out of the house and helped him to unhitch his horse and 
mount. The others stood silently in the doorway, watching 
their leader turn his horse's head away from his mountain 
home for the last time. So did the man of struggle start 
through the long northern twilight for the last, far-off adven- 
ture of his restless life. 

The boy who chanced to be a witness of this historic scene, 
had no inkling, of course, of its larger import, but the memory 
of it was soon intensified by the tragedy that followed. He 
remembers that John Brown looked very old to him that 
night — that he was beginning to stoop and show his years. 
But he was still a commanding, patriarchal figure, with his 
stocky, powerful frame, his upright bristling hair, his square 
white beard, and his shaggily browed gray-blue eyes that glit- 
tered wildly at times with the consuming fires within. His 
fifty-nine years had abated none of his vigor when he was 
roused to action, as the event showed. He was still a man 
to inspire children with awe, his friends with deference, and 
his enemies with fear. 

The exact date of his departure from North Elba is not 
known. Mr. Villard says: ''It was probably on Thursday, 
June 16, for two days later, June 18, Brown's diary shows 
that he was at West Andover, Ohio." ^ He had arrived at his 
mountain home less than a week before, and he had brought 
with him rather more supplies than usual. He also showed 
more than his usual concern about the comfort of his loved 
ones. Of his parting with them there is no record. But it 
is not probable that it was more emotional than any other. 

iJohn Broum; A Biography Fifty Years After, by Oswald Garrison Villard. 
Houghton Mifflin Co. 1911. P. 401. 



12 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

They were people of deep feelings, but of undemonstrative 
habits. Every parting of the last four years had held a pos- 
sibility of being the last, and this one held no greater uncer- 
tainty than previous ones. It is Mr. Peacock ^s impression 
that Brown had taken final leave of his family before coming 
to the Thompson house on the night of June 16, 1859. 

He was executed at Charlestown, Va., on December 2d of 
the same year. His widow obtained permission to remove 
the body to North Elba, where, on December 8th, it was for- 
mally buried in the spot he had chosen. The day was cold 
and bleak, and notable for the fact that there was no snow 
upon the ground. The ceremonies were extremely simple. 
The neighbors came from miles around, but only a few out- 
siders were there. Among these was the Rev. Joshua Young 
of Burlington, Vt., who conducted the services, and thereby 
suddenly became, next to John Brown himself, the most noto- 
rious and abused man of his day. The simple but at the time 
heroic Christian act that led to this, was entirely unpremedi- 
tated. Dr. Young had never met, or even seen, John BrowTi. 
He had long admired him from a distance, but he was at his 
funeral by the merest chance. 

The details of the interesting story, though kno^^m to a 
few, of course, were never given to the public till shortly be- 
fore Dr. Young died at his then home in AYinchester, Mass., 
in 1904. Only two weeks before his death he sent to the *'New 
England Magazine" the last manuscript he ever prepared for 
publication. It was an article entitled: ''The Burial of John 
Brown," and it appeared in the April, 1904, number of the 
magazine. From this, and some letters of Dr. Young, I offer 
the following summary of events. First of all, the little- 
known story of John Brown's last journey to his mountain 
home will bear retelling. 

The execution at Charlesto^Ti took place on Friday, Decem- 
ber 2, 1859. After the body was examined and pronounced 
dead, it was conveyed under military escort to the station and 
sent to Harper's Ferry. There it was delivered to the weep- 
ing widow and a few friends. 

They proceeded to Philadelphia, where they arrived the fol- 
lowing day, Saturday, at noon. Here a large crowd— mostly 



JOHN BROWN AT NORTH ELBA 13 

negroes — had gathered at and around the station. Some fric- 
tion had occurred, and trouble was in the air. The mayor and 
a squad of policemen soon arrived on the scene. An inter- 
view took place between the mayor and Mr. J. M. McKim, who 
was one of Mrs. Brown's escort. He wished to remain over 
in Philadelphia till Monday, to give Mrs. Brown a rest and to 
have her husband's body embalmed. The mayor said this 
would be impossible in view of the increasing excitement, 
which was threatening a riot. The body must proceed on its 
journey at once. He would see it safely through the city, but 
could do no more. To do even this he had to resort to trick- 
ery. There happened to be a long box in the baggage-car that 
looked like a coffin. This was hastily covered and openly 
placed on a wagon. The crowd was informed that the sup- 
posed body would be taken to the Anti-Slavery Office, and 
would lie there in state over Sunday. They followed this 
decoy, and the station was cleared. The real coffin was then 
immediately slipped out by a side door, and driven to the New 
York station. Here Mr. McKim was waiting to receive it, 
and continue the northward journey. Mrs. Brown, com- 
pletely exhausted, remained in Philadelphia over Sunday, 
with Mr. Tyndale, at the house of a friend. She had passed 
through the crowd at the station without being recognized. 

Mr. McKim, with his charge, reached New York Saturday 
night. Being ahead of his schedule, he escaped all notice. 
The body was taken to an undertaker's on the Bowery, and 
left there to be embalmed. Late that night the reporters, 
having got wind of the arrival, ferreted out the place, and 
had a "story'' in the Sunday papers. But nothing of more 
moment happened. 

The cortege party, now reunited, proceeded to Troy on 
Monday. Here they stopped for a while at the American 
House, a temperance hotel where Brown had often stayed 
when hving. That night they made Rutland, Vt., where they 
received much kindly attention. It is noticeable how the 
general sympathy increased and signs of hostility lessened 
as they drew nearer home. 

The next morning, Tuesday, Vergennes was reached, and a 
rest taken at the hotel. When the time for departure came, 



14 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

carriages were found waiting, and a large concourse assem- 
bled in the street to do honor to the dead hero. The bells of 
the churches were tolled, and a solemn procession followed 
the body to the shores of Lake Champlain. 

Here a boat was waiting which by special arrangement 
landed the party at Westport across the lake. From there 
they proceeded at once to Elizabethtown, ten miles away. 
Here the night was spent. The court-house was offered as a 
resting-place for the body, and six volunteers spent the night 
with it as a guard of honor. The next day, Wednesday, De- 
cember 7th, the last and hardest stage of the journey was com- 
pleted — the long, rough ride over the mountains and through 
Keene Valley to the North Elba home. The next day, Thurs- 
day, December 8, 1859, the funeral took place ; and this leads 
to the strangest part of the story. 

The Rev. Joshua Young Avas at the time thirty-six years old 
and in the seventh year of his ministry of the Unitarian 
Church in Burlington. He knew, of course, that John 
Brown's body was being conveyed to its last resting-place. 
Everybody knew that, but few knew by what route, concerning 
which the most conflicting reports circulated. At noon of 
Wednesday, December 7th, Dr. Young had no idea of attend- 
ing the funeral. How he came to do so had best be told in his 
own words : 

On Wednesday, just after dinner, I met on the street my parish- 
oner and warm personal friend, an abolitionist like myself, only more 
ardent, Mr. Lucius G. Bifrelow, who at once said to me: "It is now 
known that the body of John Brown will cross the lake at Vereennes. 
I want exceedingly to go to his funeral. Only say that you will go 
with me as my companion and my guest, and we will take the next 
train." To whom I replied : "I will meet you at the station at four 
o'clock." 

On reaching Vergennes they learned that the funeral party 
had crossed the lake the day before. They decided to follow 
and overtake it if possible. They hired horses and drove to 
the ferry in the township of Panton, six miles away. In the 
meantime a threatening day had ended in a severe northeast 
storm. The ferrjTuan refused to budge. He knew John 



JOHN BROWN AT NORTH ELBA 15 

Brown and admired him— all but his last act. He had ferried 
him across the lake many times, but he would launch his boat 
for no one in such a storm. For an hour or more the travelers 
argued and urged, but to no avail. Finally a change in the 
weather caused a change in the feri-yman. The clouds sud- 
denly broke, the raia ceased, a full moon came out, and the 
storm began to abate. The ferryman consented to take them 
over. The boat was a cumbrous scow with one sail. The 
\vdnd, still high, was in their favor, however, and they made 
the passage of three miles quickly, but in great discomfort. 
A little after midnight they were landed safely at Barber '« 
Point. 

Here they -procured horses which took them to Elizabeth- 
town. From there, a fresh relay carried them on through the 
night and the cold and the horrible roads to their destination. 
They reached John Brown's farm the next day, nearly ex- 
i hausted by fatigue and exposure. They w^ere cordially re- 
ceived, of course, and found themselves in a very considerable 
company of people, mostly friends and neighbors of John 
[ Brown. Soon after there occurred the crucial incident in 
i Dr. Young's career, and I leave him again to tell it in his 
own words : 

Presently Mr. Wendell Phillips came into the room; a few words 
were exchanged, and then retiring for a few minutes, he returned and 
f said to me: "Mr. Young, you are a minister; admiration for this 
I dead hero and sympathy with this bereaved family must have brought 
you here, journeying all night through the cold rain and over the 
! dismal mountains to reach this place. It would give INIrs. Brown and 
! the other widows great satisfaction if you would perform the usual 
; service of a clergyman on this occasion." Of course there was but 
one answer to make to such a request — from that moment I knew why 
; God had sent me there. For it must be remembered that five house- 
holds and four families of North Elba were stricken by that blow at 
Harper's Ferry. 

The funeral took place at one o'clock. The services began 
with the singing of "Blow ye the trumpet, blow!" All joined 
in this who could, but the old tune was most familiar to the 
negroes, most of them fugitive slaves, who made up about half 
of those present. Then followed a prayer by Dr. Young ; then 



16 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

an eloquent, moving speech by Wendell Pliillips. After that 
another hymn was sung. During this the coffin was so placed 
that all could see the dead man 's face. It looked very natural, 
having a slight flush (caused by the manner of his death) 
instead of the usual pallor. 

Then came the short procession from the house to the grave. 
Six residents of North Elba bore the coffin. It was followed 
by Mrs. John Brown on the arm of Mr. Phillips; the widow 
of Oliver on the arm of Mr. McKim, who by the other hand 
led little Ellen Bro\^^l ; next came the widow of Watson wdth 
Dr. Young, then the widow of William Thompson with Mr. 
Bigelow. At the grave Dr. Young closed the ceremonies by 
quoting the words of Paul before Nero : 

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept 
the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteous- 
ness which the righteous judge shall give me at that day, and not to 
me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. 

Immediately after the funeral most of the guests, including 
Dr. Young, started for home. On reaching there the minister 
began to reap the passionate aftermath of his Christian act. 
He found that already six of his wealthiest parishioners had 
resigned from his church. Others soon followed. Friends 
avoided him upon the streets. The papers all over the coun- 
try, with few exceptions, vilified and caricatured him. He 
was the butt of tongue and pen from coast to coast. He was 
branded an ''anarchist," a ''traitor," an "infidel," a "blas- 
phemer," a "vile associate of Garrison and Phillips." He 
left Burlington a respected citizen and honored pastor, he 
returned to it, two days later, to find himself "little better 
than a social outcast." 

Dr. Young purposely withheld the publication of his acci- 
dental share in this stirring event until near the close of his 
life, although his friends had often urged him to release it 
before. 

In the summer following the funeral, on July 4, 1860, a 
John Brown celebration was held in the woods which then 
adjoined the farm. This was largely attended both by natives 
and outsiders. There were many stirring speeches and much 




"CONE" FLANDERS HOUSE 
About one-half mile from Scott's, where John Brown first lived 




fe 



Photo by Murray Mir- 



JOHN BROWN'S FARM 



JOHN BROWN AT NORTH ELBA 17 

singing, led as usual by the Epps family. The event was al- 
together notable and impressive. 

Mrs. Brown remained on the farm till 1864, when she sold 
it to Alexus Hinckley, and moved away. The Hinckleys were 
old settlers at North Elba, and Salmon Brown had married 
one of the daughters, Abbie, in 1857. 

In 1870 the farm was purchased by the John Brown Asso- 
ciation, of which Miss Kate Field, the eccentric authoress, 
was the organizer. She had always been an ardent admirer 
of John Brown, even to the extent of wishing to be buried at 
his side. When she heard that his farm was for sale and 
likely to pass into unsympathetic hands, she made a strenuous 
effort to save it as a historical shrine. She succeeded in inter- 
esting twenty well-known gentlemen, who contributed a hun- 
dred dollars each and formed themselves into an association 
to buy and maintain the John Brown Farm. It was pur- 
chased, and the deed given to Mr. Henry Clews, the banker, 
as trustee, who held it in this capacity for twenty-five years. 
During this time the association maintained a resident care- 
taker on the premises and kept them in repair. Finally a 
movement was started to have the State take over the prop- 
erty, and by 1896 all legal preliminaries for the transfer had 
been made. The attendant ceremonies took place on July 21, 
1896. 

A deed of gift, made by Henry Clews and wife, conveys and 
dedicates to the People of New York State, land situated in 
North Elba, Essex County, more particularly described as Lot 
95, Township 12, Old Military Tract, Thorn's Survey, to be 
''used for the purpose of a public park or reservation for- 
ever." 

Lot 95 contains 244 acres, and all of it is conveyed, except- 
ing one eighth of an acre. This comprises the little burial 
plot, title to which remains vested in John Brown's heirs. 

A large concourse of people attended the ceremonies — resi- 
dents from miles around, visitors from summer hotels, and 
chosen representatives of the people and the State. First of 
all a large United States flag was raised above John Brown's 
grave. Then came the unveiling of a monumental stone 
erected on a boulder just outside the burial plot. This stone 



18 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

is a granite slab, nine feet high and four feet wide. It bears 
the following inscription : 

John Bbown's Farm 
Donated to the People of the 
State of New York 
by 
Kate Field, Anna Quincy Waterston, 

LeGrand B. Cannon, Isaac H. Bailey, 

Salem H. Wales, Henry Clews, 

William H. Lee, Charles Stewart Smith, 

Simeon B Chittenden, George Cabot Ward, 

D. R. Martin, George A. Bobbins, 

Jackson S. Schultz, Charles C. Judson, 

Isaac Sherman, Horace B. Claflin, 

Elliot C. Cowdin, John E. Williams, 

Sinclair Tousey, Thomas Murphy. 

A. D. 1896 1 

This tablet was covered by a loose flag. While those pres- 
ent joined in singing "America," it was unveiled by the hands 
of two old men — Leander and Frank Thompson, whose two 
brothers were killed at Harper's Ferry. The assemblage 
then gathered in and around the house, where the further exer- 
cises were held. The Rev. Dr. Brinkhurst of Chicago offered 
a prayer. Then General Edwin A. Merritt of Potsdam made 
an address, in which, as representative of the donors, he ten- 
dered the farm to the State. It was accepted by Colonel Ash- 
ley W. Cole, acting for Governor Levi P. Morton, who was 
unable to be present. Then all joined in singing 'Mohn 
Brown's body lies amouldering in the grave." 

There followed a lengthy address, reviewing John Brown's 
career, by Colonel Henry H. Lyman of Oswego. Next came 
what was to man)^ I think, the most impressive and touching 
part of the program. There w^as a colored family, named 
Epps, who for years had led the singing at the North Elba 
church services. They were escaped slaves who had come to 

1 Twenty years later, Aug. 23, 1916, another tablet was unveiled at John 
Brown's grave. It was the result of a movement started by Byron T. Brewster 
of Lake Placid, an old friend and admirer of the Osawatomie hero. This tablet 
also was affixed to the large boulder in the burial plot. The inscription recites 
the chief events in John Brown's career, followed by the names of the twelve 
followers buried beside him. In separate columns are those who were caught and 
hanged, and those who escaped from Harper's Ferry. 



JOHN BROWN AT NORTH ELBA 19 

the place when John Brown moved there. The father, Lyman 
Epps, was now an old man, and his sons were no longer 
young, but all had retained the gift of song and were sweet 
singers before the Lord. They mounted a little platform built 
for them in the open place before the house, and sang John 
BrowTi's favorite hymn, "The Year of Jubilee," beginning: 
"Blow ye the trumpet, blow!" They had often sung it with 
him in the old days, making of its words a prayer; and now 
they sang it by his grave, a prophecy come true. 

The day and the scene were impressively perfect. The air 
was still, and freighted with the sweetness of forests in re- 
pose. The distant panorama of encircling mountains was mel- 
lowed by soft amethystine haze, and gave the impress of na- 
ture kneeling down in prayer. The spirit of the dead rose up 
and mingled with the mood of loveliness around, and they who 
sang thought not of those who listened, but of those who had 
given their lives to make the singers free. Above the rich 
blend of the quartet floated the pure, sweet tenor of old man 
Epps, in tones which might have come from the adolescent 
throat of a choir-boy. With closed eyes and uplifted head he 
sang as one inspired, and poured forth a swan-song of un- 
earthly beauty.^ 

The Rev. Father Lynch spoke the benediction. Then a pla- 
toon of war veterans discharged three volleys over John 
Brown's grave — a soldier's salute, delivered at last, after 
thirty-seven years of cooling passions. And so the North 
Elba farm passed forever into the ranks of historical relics. 

Three years later, in 1899, another unique event took place 
at North Elba, and the attention of the country was focused 
again for a day around John Brown's grave. On this occasion 
the bones of ten of his followers at Harper's Ferry were 
placed in a grave beside their leader's. The ceremonies were 
widely advertised, largely attended, and extensively reported, 
and yet they seem to have escaped the notice of the general 
public. 

This last scene in the John Brown drama was staged en- 
tirely by Miss Katharine E. McClellan, formerly of Saranac 
Lake, but now residing at Sarasota, Fla. During her resi- 

1 Lyman Epi)s died in March, 1897, and was buried at North Elba. 



20 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

dence in Saranac Lake, Miss McClellan established a photo- 
graphic studio and became widely known for her artistic pic- 
tures of Adirondack scenery. Among them were many of 
John Brown's home, some of which are used in the official re- 
port ^ of its transfer to the State. Miss McClellan also wrote 
a sketch of John Brown which, neatly bound and artistically 
illustrated, was on sale at the farm for a number of years. 
This association of her name with the place led to her receiv- 
ing one day a rather startling letter from an utter stranger. 
The writer was Dr. Thomas Featherstonhaugh of Washing- 
ton, D. C. He unfolded a plan to exhume the bones of several 
of John Brown's followers, and have them reburicd beside 
their leader, Avith public ceremonies and military honors, tie 
himself could not leave Washington, and he begged Miss Mc- 
Clellan to undertake the North Elba end of the scheme. In 
the enthusiasm of the moment she consented, not fully real- 
izing the difficulties of the task she had assumed, but carry- 
ing it through, by unflagging zeal and tireless effort, to a most 
successful issue. The affair led to much correspondence, 
especially with Dr. Featherstonhaugh. All of this Miss Mc- 
Clellan has kindly turned over to me for use in this chapter. 

Great secrecy was maintained in the sending and arrival of 
the bones, for they had been taken without the knowledge or 
consent of any one, save the owner of the land on which they 
lay. They were brought to Saranac Lake by a confidential 
agent, in an ordinary traveling-trunk. This was left with 
Miss McClellan, who kept it at her house till just before the 
ceremonies. Up to the last there was the vague dread of sud- 
den interference, but none of any moment developed. 

Twenty-two men were engaged in the attack at Harper's 
Ferry. Of these seven were captured and hanged; five 
escaped, and ten were killed. Among the latter were Watson 
Brown and Jeremiah G. Anderson, whose bodies were given 
to the Winchester Medical College of Virginia, for anatomical 
purposes. What became of Anderson's remains after that is 
not known; but Watson's were recovered and buried at North 
Elba in 1882. The other bodies were rudely interred in two 
large boxes on the edge of the Shenandoah River, about half 

1 Fisheries, Game and Forest Commission. Report for 189G. 



JOHN BROWN AT NORTH ELBA 21 

a mile from Harper's Ferry. It is the bones of these eight 
men that Dr. Featherstoiihaugh recovered. Their names 
follow; 

Oliver Brown, son of John. 

William Thompson of North Elba. ) 

Dauphin Thompson of North Elba J ^^^^^^^^ of Henry. 

Stewart Taylor of Uxbridge, Canada. 

John Henrie Kagi of Bristol, O. 

William H. Leeman of Hallowell, Me. 

Dangerfield Newby, j 

Lewis Sheridan Leary. \ ^^"l^^os. 

The remains of two other bodies were added to the list at 
the last moment. Mr. E. P. Stevens of Brookline, Mass., 
hearing of what was going on, asked permission to send the 
bones of his uncle Aaron D. Stevens, and of a companion 
Albert Hazlett, to be reinterred with their comrades. These 
were two of the raiders who had been caught and hanged, and 
later buried at Perth Amboy, N. J. Their accession to the 
number made a total of ten bodies recovered. 

The other eight bodies were disinterred on July 29, 1899, 
by Dr. Featherstonhaugh, accompanied by Captain E. P. Hall 
of Washington and Professor 0. G. Libby of the University of 
Wisconsin, who brought the mysterious trunk to Saranac 
Lake, Dr. Featherstonhaugh feels that the identity of the 
remains is beyond question, owing to the unusual boxes that 
contained them, to the remote and virtually unknown spot 
that hid them, and above all to the fact that James Mansfield 
of Harper's Ferry, who received five dollars from the county 
to bury them, was again employed to unearth them. 

The two large boxes were found to lie about three feet 
below the surface of the ground, and, although much decayed, 
were still in an unexpected state of preservation, owing to 
moisture from the near-by river. Much of the clothing was 
also preserved. Parts of coats and vests, with the buttons 
still on, were found. From one of the pockets there fell two 
short lead-pencils, sharpened for use, which, thanks to Miss 
McClellan, are now in my possession. 

Masses of woolen texture were found around each body, 
which would argue that they had been buried in the blanket 
shawls in which they fought — shawls which had been sent to 



22 A HISTORY OF THE ADIEONDACKS 

the Kennedy farm as a gift shortly before the raid. The 
smaller bones of the bodies had all mouldered away, but the 
larger ones were found intact. 

These, after making their journey northward in a trunk, 
were finally placed, with the Perth Amboy remains, in one 
handsome casket. This, at Miss McClellan's suggestion, was 
donated by the Town of North Elba. It had silver handles 
and a silver plate, on wliich were inscribed the names of the 
men and the date of burial. 

The day chosen for the ceremonies was August 30, 1899 — 
the forty-third anniversary of the last fight at Osawatomie. 
Once again the weather was fair and smiled upon the occasion, 
which lured some fifteen hundred people to the lonely spot. 
Ruth Thompson — an old lady living in the West — wrote that 
she felt so happy over the event that she could not sleep. She 
said she would be there in spirit, but that poverty would pre- 
vent her coming in person. 

The Rev. Joshua Young, who had laid John Brown to rest, 
performed the last rites over the new grave of his followers. 
Colonel Richard J. Hinton made a lengthy address, and Bishop 
Potter and Whitelaw Reid made shorter ones. The surviving 
members of the Epps family once more made sweet and sol- 
emn music above the graves of men who had died to make 
them free. A detachment of the 26tli U. S. Infantry, from 
Plattsburg, fired a soldier's salute; the benediction was 
spoken, and the curtain fell on the last act of a national drama, 
begun at Harper's Ferry forty years before. 



I 



CHAPTER XXXI 
ADIRONDACK LODGE 

A FEW miles south of Lake Placid is Heart Lake (for- 
merly Clear Lake), on whose shores stood the once 
famous Adirondack Lodge, one of the largest log structures 
in the world. It was a unique building, erected and domi- 
nated for many years by a unique man — Henry van Hoeven- 
berg. 

For many of the details of his career I am indebted to one 
of his most intimate friends Mr. Godfrey Dewey of the Lake 
Placid Club, who wrote a lengthy obituary article concerning 
him for the "Lake Placid News" of March 1, 1918. 

Mr. van Hoevenberg, or ''Mr. Van," as he was popularly 
called, came of Dutch Huguenot ancestry, and was born at 
Oswego, N. Y., on March 22, 1849. His family later moved 
to Lansingburg, and then to Troy, where he attended school. 
At an early age he showed a marked bent for mechanical in- 
vention. Obliged to go to work in his teens, he secured a 
position as telegraph messenger boy. His interest centered 
at once around the keyboard, and he soon became an expert 
operator. Telegraphy was then in its infancy, and the gifted 
young Van was not long in devising and applying schemes for 
its improvement. He was one of the first to see the possibili- 
ties of a printing telegraph, and ultimately contributed to its 
development some of the basic principles in use to-day. He 
rose rapidly in his profession and became chief electrician of 
the Baltimore & Ohio system. Later he was called to Eng- 
land to supervise one of the first printing telegraphs installed 
there. He is said to have taken out over one hundred patents 
in his lifetime, and to have received over $100,000 from them. 
Nearly all of this went into his Adirondack Lodge, and w^as 
ultimately lost. Like most inventors he was not remarkable 
for commercial shrewdness, and was prone to get into law- 
suits. 

23 



24 A HISTOEY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

About the time he built the lodge, he began to suffer from a 
virulent form of hay-fever, which gradually forced him to 
spend all his time in the woods and to give up all outside ac- 
tivities. After losing his ownership of the lodge, in 1895, he 
was engaged by the newly organized Lake Placid Club as its 
first postmaster and telegraph operator. Later he became 
manager of the telegraph office in the village of Lake Placid. 

In 1900 the Lake Placid Club bought the lodge and rein- 
stalled Mr. Van as superintendent and host in his former 
home. He stayed there till it burned in the destructive fires 
of 1903. Again he went back to the club, acting in various 
useful and popular capacities. His interest at this time and 
his duties centered largely in promoting the objects of the 
Adirondack Camp and Trail Club, which was organized 
through the combined enthusiasm of himself, Mr. Edward A. 
Woods of Pittsburgh, and Mr. Godfrey Dewey. The purpose 
of the club was to blaze and keep open trails to the higher 
peaks and strategic points of outlook; to build lean-tos and 
huts, and to furnish them with a communal supply of blankets 
and cooking-utensils. Mr. Van's fondest dream was to erect 
a permanent stone shelter near the summit of Mount Marcy. 
This, however, he did not live to accomplish. 

Feeling the necessity of going into business, he moved 
across the lake and opened an electrical store in the village 
in 1917. Soon after, he was taken suddenly ill while off on a 
tramp one Sunday afternoon, and his friends at the club in- 
duced him to return to it for rest and recuperation. For a 
week he seemed to improve, but he died suddenly on Febmary 
25, 1918. Services were held at Lake Placid, and the body 
was taken to Troy for burial. He was survived by only one 
near relative, a sister, Mrs. Gilbert Knight of Gilbertsville, 
Mass. 

The building of Adirondack Lodge traces back to romantic 
beginnings. Mr. Van's first visit to the mountains was in 
1877 when, with some friends, he camped on Upper Ausable 
Lake. In the party was a Miss Josephine Scofield, to whom 
he became engaged. The young lovers were naturally 
under the spell of the Adirondacks, and wove them ardently 
into their plans for the future. They decided to climb the 



ADIRONDACK LODGE 25 

highest mountain and from its summit select the most beau- 
tiful spot in sight as the location for a future home — a home 
that was also to be a house of entertainment for friends and 
acquaintances. 

They ascended Mount Marcy, and found in the outlook some 
embarrassment of beautiful spots. Finally, however, they 
agreed upon one. It was a tiny lake that looked to them like 
a heart-shaped sapphire deeply cushioned in the velvety green 
of primeval tree-tops. It lay in utter seclusion, the moun- 
tains rising sheer from its shores. One of them was imme- 
diately named Mount Jo, in honor of Miss Scofield. The spot 
she chose became the site of the lodge, but she did not live to 
see it built. She died suddenly mthin the year. 

In the following summer of 1878, Mr. Van returned to the 
woods, ha\ing resolved to carry out alone, as a form of memo- 
rial, the general scheme that had been planned. He bought 
640 acres of land surrounding Heart Lake and including 
Mount Jo. He cleared a bit of level ground near the lake, 
and began the erection of the lodge. First of all, a road had 
to be built to it from the highway at North Elba. This new 
road was of corduroy construction, and traces of the massive 
logs that were used are still visible to-day. All the building 
material for the lodge, except the big logs, had to be hauled 
in from Ausable Forks, thirty-five miles away. 

The exterior of the house was formed of giant spruces, 
many of them measuring over two feet in the lower courses. 
The main building had a frontage of eighty-five feet and was 
thirty-six feet deep and three stories high, wdth a rear wing 
of almost equal size. A very high, built-in observation tower 
rose above the gabled roof, and broad piazzas stretched on 
every side. The interior was inlaid with every refinement of 
rustic work that skill and ingenuity could devise. It also con- 
tained every comfort and sanitary convenience that the times 
afforded, and was one of the first Adirondack hotels to offer 
bath-rooms to its guests. 

It was finally completed and opened to the public in the 
summer of 1880, and for fifteen years enjoyed a quiet but 
steady popularity. This was largely due to the personality 
of the owner, who made it play an important part in the enter- 



26 A HISTORY OF THE ADIKONDACKS 

tainment of his guests. An indefatigable tramper himself, he 
opened and kept open over fifty miles of wood trails, diverg- 
ing from the lodge to the many points of scenic beauty in the 
neighborhood. He believed, moreover, that a tramping- 
expedition should be made as comfortable as possible for all 
concerned. He was among the first to realize that the charm 
of unavoidable hardships is not increased by unnecessary 
ones, and he was most successful in demonstrating the theory. 
His tramping and camping parties were always provided 
with dainty food and the best of bedding. 

His companionship and leadership on the trail were always 
eagerly sought. His enthusiasm, his cheerfulness, his knowl- 
edge of the woods, made him the best of guides, and his gift 
for weaving and telling a tale made him a boon companion. 
His story-telling — which extended to writing and publishing, 
and often took the form of verso — soon became an institution 
and tradition of the lodge. Special evenings were set apart 
for it and the out-of-door stage was artistically prepared 
around a huge camp fire. On these occasions the minstrel 
would appear in his famous suit of genuine Indian smoke- 
tanned buckskin, ornamented with gay Mexican beadwork. 

Mr. Van was small of stature, but stocky and muscular, and 
had the dogged endurance of an Indian. He wore a grizzly 
beard, and his keen eyes were shadowed by bushy brows. The 
eyes reflected a general gentleness of character, but could 
flash with the fire of righteous anger. His dress was the ma- 
terial expression of his outdooring disposition. Early in his 
Adirondack career he had originated the idea of wearing 
leather clothing, and this unusual but durable attire became 
distinctly associated with his person. It was the outcome of 
his constant tramping and working in the woods, and the in- 
adequacy of ordinary clothing to withstand rough usage. He 
had a dozen leather suits, each of a different color. One of 
these lasted him for twenty years. Another familiar link 
with his appearance was a beautiful pet saddle-horse which 
he used for making his almost daily trips between the lodge 
and Lake Placid tillage. 

After losing the lodge through litigation connected with 
some of his patents, in 1895, and being reinstated as manager 



ADIRONDACK LODGE 27 

in 1900, there followed three happy summers there for him- 
self and his many friends. Then, in the spring of 1903, came 
the fearful fires that destroyed it. No one who was living in 
the Adirondacks at the time will ever forget the dread and 
suspense of those days. The whole woods seemed ablaze, and 
there were actually fires in every section of them. They 
started during a long drought, and continued through a spell 
of almost windless weather. The result was a dense pall of 
smoke that settled everywhere and obscured the outlook a 
hundred feet away. This, continuing from day to day, caused 
a nerve-racking uncertainty. No one not definitely informed 
could tell where the fires were, which way they were creeping, 
or when they might flare up suddenly near camp or cabin. It 
was thus that they stealthily stormed the lodge. 

On June 3d, the fatal day, there was no one there but a gang 
of workmen. Mr. Van had been oif camping for the night and 
scouting for danger. lie returned home in the belief that 
none was near. Hardly had he entered the house, however, 
when a telephone call for help came from South Meadows, a 
mile away to the east. The fires were there and headed for 
the lodge. Horses and men were at once despatched to the 
rescue, but were soon forced to turn back before rapidly ad- 
vancing smoke and flames. 

Mr. Van, meanwhile, had mounted his seventy-foot outlook 
tower, and tried to peer over the smoke-smothered tree-tops. 
He could just see the flare of inevitable doom surging do^\^l 
from Mount Jo. He was being hemmed in by two fires. He 
saw that the lodge was doomed and that his own escape was 
already problematical. He called to his men to help him 
carry down his large telescope and place it in a boat, which 
he pushed out into the lake. Then he threw the table silver 
into shallow water. Next he brought out the unfinished model 
of his ''Kemigraph"— his latest invention— and placed it on 
a rock in the clearing. Finally, he emptied the stable of 
horses, and locked the doors. These things done, he turned 
his thoughts to escape. 

By this time the men sent to South Meadows had returned, 
and Mr. Van started with them all on the trail around the 
lake leading to the Indian Pass. It was the only avenue of 



28 A HISTORY OF THE ADIEONDACKS 

retreat left open. They had not gone far, however, when one 
of the men — Frank Williams, the caretaker — discovered that 
Mr. Van had disappeared. Guessing the truth, he ran back 
to the lodge and there found the captain determined to go 
down with his ship. It w^as a foolish bit of bravado, if you 
like, and directly traceable, no doubt, to overstrung nerves, 
but showing a touching depth of affection for a place — and a 
place he no longer owned but merely loved. 

The colloquy that followed was short. Mr. Van drew a re- 
volver and bid Williams begone. The latter sat dowm and 
refused to budge wdthout his employer. This restored reason 
to the fanatic. He hastily gathered a few things together and 
consented to go. The two men started on a run. They were 
none too soon. The flames were already leaping across their 
path. Mr. Van's condition can be judged from the fact that 
a red-hot ember embedded itself in his hand, but he was not 
aware of it till security was reached and relaxation set in. 

The party gained the borders of the Indian Pass at night- 
fall, and rested there in a coign of safety. The darkness was 
lined with a lurid silence. Few, if any, slept. Suddenly, 
about midnight, the nervous watchers heard a distant crum- 
bling crash. They gazed at each other with a sure surmise. 
They knew the voice and read the message right. The Adi- 
rondack Lodge had passed into the Land of Things that Were. 



CHAPTER XXXII 
KEENE VALLEY 

TO the east of Lake Placid and Adirondack Lodge lies the 
beautiful Keene Valley, one of the earliest localities to 
be permanently settled and transiently visited. It is unique. 
There is nothing like it anj^vhere else in the Adirondacks. It 
is a Swiss-like combination of broad and fertile meadow-lands, 
surrounded by abruptly rising mountains. Through its cen- 
ter, from south to north, gracefully winds the East Branch of 
the Ausable River. 

Keene Valley lies just within the eastern ''blue line" of the 
park, which is here identical with the eastern boundary of the 
Town of Keene. The usual confusion of names is not lacking. 
The valley proper has an extent of several miles. Within it 
are two distinct settlements. Near the center is the village of 
Keene, now called Keene Center. Five miles to the south is a 
larger village named Keene Valley, formerly known as Keene 
Flats. 

KEENE CENTER 

The earliest settlement in the present village of Keene Cen- 
ter was in 1797, when a man named Benjamin Payne settled 
there with his wife. He came from Jay, and cleared a lumber 
road from that place to his lone Keene shanty. Here, it is 
said, the first white child in the valley, Betsy Payne, was born 
in 1798. And here the pioneer of this section died in 1800. 

Soon after this other settlers came to the valley and spread 
themselves over the land between the two present villages. 
By 1823 their number was sufficient to induce an optimist 
named William Wells to open a store in what is now Keene 
Center. Obviously this trading-venture must have been ex- 
tremely primitive, but it antedated by many years any other 
attempt to open a store in the Adirondacks. 

In the same year, 1823, David Graves built the first approxi- 

29 



30 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

mation of a hotel in the place — and in the valley — and was 
appointed the first postmaster of the first post-office in the 
Adirondacks. The mail, however, came and went but twice a 
week, and was carried on horseback to and from Westport. 

The original Graves Hotel is still standing at the cross- 
roads which make the center of the little village to-day. Di- 
rectly in front of it billows an enormous elm. It has a spread 
of 91 feet, and its trunk measures 21 Vo feet in circumference. 
It is not only the largest elm in the Adirondacks but it attained 
its great size within the lifetime of the person who planted it. 
Mrs. Frank Hull, a resident of Keene Center, says the tree 
was planted by her mother Mary Gay and another little girl 
Delia Ann Graves, daughter of the hotel-keeper, while the two 
children were playing together in front of the old hotel. The 
Graves girl grew up, married, and went West to live. In her 
later life she was told of the wonderful growth of her tree, and 
made a special trip to her old home in order to see it. During 
this visit she called on Mrs. Hull, the daughter of the playmate 
who had shared in the planting. 

The first Graves Hotel appears to have been surprisingly 
well patronized, for at the end of two years the proprietor 
abandoned the old one and built a larger one across the road 
from it. This had a checkered career and changed hands 
frequently. In 1850 it was sold to Arvilla E. Blood, who, with 
her brothers, ran it till 1866 and then sold it to Willard Bell.' 
The Bloods then moved to Saranac Lake and purchased what 
is now the Riverside Inn.^ The Keene Center hotel was de- 
stroyed by fire in 1883, but was immediately rebuilt. It is 
now (1920) a cozy little tavern called ''Owl's Head Inn," 
oMmed by Wallace Murray and run by William Washburn. 
The latter is a direct descendant of an early settler on Alstead 
Hill, which calls for a word of notice here. This was the once 
familiar name applied to the long, steep rise that lifts the road 
from the valley toward the Cascade Lakes. The grueling pull 
up Alstead Hill was the dread of man and beast in coaching- 
days, and is still a climb that commands the respect of avoid- 

1 Mr. Bell was noted for vvearinji a "stovepipe" hat with a dome-shaped top. It 
earner] for him the nickname of "Bee Hive Bell." 

2 See Chap. XX, "Saranac Lake." 



KEENE VALLEY 31 

ance by automobiles. In the early days, however, the broad 
slopes of the hillside lured many of the pioneer settlers. 

Though it had the first hotel, store, and post-office in the 
mountains, Keene Center did not keep the promise of its 
precocity. As a village it has grown scarcely at all in a hun- 
dred years.i Its trinity of public utilities did not sprout. It 
has always remained a gateway to the beauties beyond it. 
Travelers passed it by in order to reach the greater scenic 
splendors of the more southern valley. Stoddard's guide- 
book of 1879 has nothing to say of Keene Center, but it devotes 
several pages to the larger village five miles below it. 

KEENE VALLEY (tHE VILLAGE) 

This is the present name of what was formerly known as 
Keene Flats — a less confusing and more appropriate desig- 
nation. The settlement here antedates that of Keene Center, 
for the records at Albany show that "one Pangborn and one 
Biddlecome were living on Lot 23, Mallory's Grant," in 1797. 
This was south of Prospect Hill, near Dr. Laight's house. 

The next settler appears to have been Otis Estes, who set- 
tled on the present Estes Farm, just north of Prospect Hill, 
in 1800. The present house on this old farm is owned by the 
Rev. Livingston Taylor, who takes great pride in pointing out 
one part of it as a relic of the pioneer structure. This stood 
originally near a brook, and was undermined in 1837 by a 
freshet. Thereupon the neighbors foregathered with twenty 
yoke of oxen and transported the house to the present site. 

In 1806 Smith Holt, while visiting his father-in-law in West- 
port, heard of the rich valley along the Ausable River, and 
decided to try his fortune there. He settled south of the 
present village, and east of what is now called Ogden Bridge. 
He had a large family. He brought four boys and three girls 
to the valley with him, and two more boys and one girl were 
born there, making a total of eight cliildren. The father died 
in 1814. The girls all married and moved away. The boys 
also went away, but three of them soon returned to the old 

1 I recently saw the following item in a local paper: "Keene is gottin9- to be a 
regular thriving metropolis. For tlie first time in its history the pretty little 
village is to have sidewalks." The Daily Item, July 9, 1919. 



32 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

homestead and stayed there till about 1856, when they began 
buying separate farms. Alvah bought at the entrance to the 
valley; James, near John's Brook; and Harvey, a mile to the 
north of him. 

Between 1806 and 1810 a number of settlers came to the 
valley, among them Roderick McKenzie and Aaron and 
Phineas Beede. The McKenzie Farm is where the Ranney 
Cottages now stand. The Beedes located at first nearer 
Keene Center than Keene Valley. Phineas Beede settled just 
north of Norton Cemetery, on what is now the Dudley Farm, 
and it is said that he bought **all the land in sight for thirty 
bushels of oats." 

Phineas Beede had three sons — Orrin, Almon, and Allen — 
and one daughter Alma. Aaron Beede also had three sons, 
Smith, Eldward, and David. Of these Smith Beede became 
most widely known as the owner of what is now St. Hubert's 
Inn. 

Not only did Keene Valley take the lead in stores and hotels, 
but the Town of Keene organized the first school district in 
the Adirondacks. A complete record of the trustee meetings 
has been preserved from the year 1813, although there is evi- 
dence that a school existed prior to that date. On July 6, 1913, 
the one hundredth anniversary of the first recorded meeting 
was celebrated, and on this occasion Mrs. F. M. Scanlon, libra- 
rian of the Keene Valley Library, read a paper entitled: ''A 
Brief History of School District No. 1 of the Town of Keene, 
from 1813 to the Present Time." This article, as well as the 
rare old book of records, was graciously loaned to me by Mrs. 
Scanlon, to whom, moreover, I am indebted for much other 
material and valuable help in connection with this chapter. 

The old school records are a unique and interesting com- 
pilation, and afford an excellent bird's-eye view of the gradual 
growth of this once secluded community. The earlier entries 
are most primitively worded, written, and spelled; but the 
later ones reflect the spread of the educational efforts they 
briefly record. 

The original School District does not appear to have ex- 
tended beyond Hull's Falls, as no names of those living 



KEENE VALLEY 33 

beyond that point are in the records. It is noticeable that the 
name Beede is not mentioned in them at all. 

The first school trustees were Jonathan Graves, Joseph 
Bruce, and Otis Estes; but just where the first school was held 
can no longer be determined. The first hint of location is 
given in the following entry, which is quoted in full as a fair 
sample of them all : 

Nov. 16, 1815 

This day School District No 1 met and 

voted 1 Otis Estes moderator 

voted 2 to keep school three months this winter in Joseph Bnices 

house by putting in one window, 
voted 3 to git one forth of a cord of wood for each skoller that 

is sent to school this winter 
voted 4 that if any one neglected to git his wood he should pa the 

sum of one dollar and fifty cents pur cord 
voted 5 to disolve this meeting 

In 1817 Luther Walker received $1.25 for the use of his 
room for the winter. 

In 1818 it was voted to build a school-house, but this was 
not completed till 1820. It measured twenty by twenty-four 
feet and stood in the field now owned by B. B. Estes, nearly 
opposite Charles Barton's house. It was to be "big enuf for 
forty siters." 

In 1825 we get the first approximation of the teacher's 
salary. It was voted "to pay three dollars in money and the 
rest in iron and grane at the given price when the school is 
out." 

In 1826 we catch the first glimpse of a widening horizon. 
It is voted "that a tax he raised to pay for a Book to keep 
School district Records therein." 

The trustees have now thrown economy to the winds, and 
have inaugurated a veritable orgy of taxation. In 1828 we 
are confronted by the following resolution: "that we raise by 
tax three dollars and ten cents to repair the schoolhouse." 
Imagine the dilapidation that $3.10 would repair after eight 
years of use ! 



34 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

By 1833 there were thirty-seven pupils attending the school, 
and the budget amounted to $19.46. 

By 1838 the attendance had overrun the * 'forty siters" 
mark, and had jumped to forty-six. Congestion had begun. 
By 1850, therefore, it was found necessary to build a larger 
school-house. This was erected on Harvey Holt's lot, next 
to Norman Dibble's south line. It cost $238 and Orson 
Phelps was the carpenter. It was not painted, however, till 
1882, when it received a coat of the usual red color, and be- 
came known as the ** Little Red School-house." It is still 
standing on the Keene Valley Country Club grounds and is 
used as a locker and tool-house. Over the entrance is a panel 
with the following inscription : 

This building was erected for a 
District School Hoiis»e in 1850 and was 
framed by Orson S. Phelps. Divine Worship 
was for many years held here by 
Thomas Watson, Pastor. 
Horace Bushnell 
James B. Shaw 
Noah Porter 
William H. Hodge 
Joseph H. Twichell 
William L. Kingsley. 

In 1887 a third building was erected at a cost of $1,400 
and a branch school was built near St. Hubert's Inn, which is 
still used to-day. 

In 1910 the present main school-house was built at a cost of 
$11,000, and this completes a brief survey of the oldest school 
district in the mountains, which may be tabulated as follows : 



School- 
house 


Built 


Used 


Cost 


Sold for 


1st 


1820 


30 years 


$168. 


$ 4.75 


2d 


1850 


37 " 


238. 


63.00 


3d 


1887 


23 " 


1,400. 


400.00 


4th 


1910 (to 1920) 


10 " 


11,000. 






100 years 





That the school had a library at some early date is attested 
by the following unusual entry on a separate and undated 
page of the records : 



KEENE VALLEY 35 

Amount of fines for damages done to School Library Dist. No. 1. 
G. T. Bruce for one grease spot 0.06 

Orin Dibble " " " " 0.10 

It is interesting to note that the first school-house sold for 
a trifle less than five dollars. This illustrates nicely the value 
of pennies in the community even as late as 1850. The man 
who drove what would now seem a very close bargain, was 
David Hale, whose son LeGrand Hale is still Uving in the 
valley. The father, in the very early days, lived for a time 
at the outlet of Lower Ausable Lake, where he had a saw- 
mill. His particular claim to distinction here, however, is the 
fact that he once o^v^led what is now the smallest parcel of 
State land in the Adirondacks. It is a lot, containing exactly 
one acre, on Styles Brook in the northeastern part of the Town 
of Keene. It is Lot 128 of Henry's Survey, and is shown on 
the large Conservation Commission map by a pinhead of red 
touching the ''blue line." David Hale lumbered the tiny, 
isolated lot, and then allowed it to revert to the State for 
taxes. 

Biddlecome, who has been mentioned as one of the earliest 
settlers, left his impress on the community by cutting and 
smoothing out a trail from Keene Valley through South 
Meadows to North Elba. This old trail is shown on the Geo- 
logical Survey maps. It follows Slide Brook to the South 
Meadows Brook, and comes out near Adirondack Lodge, al- 
though it seems probable that originally it came out nearer 
the Plains of Abraham, for it became the highway between 
that spot and Keene Valley. A horse and wagon could get 
through in summer, jumpers were pulled over it in winter, 
and riders on horseback went over it at all times. It was 
used as a bridle-path as late as 1840, for Mrs. Scanlon told 
me of an old lady living in Vermont, who often told of her 
OAvn experience in that year. It was one of much cold and 
rain, and food was very scarce. The old lady — then a young 
married woman living in North Elba — told how, in the ab- 
sence of her husband, her supplies became exhausted. As a 
last resource she managed to collect a small bag of corn. She 
then saddled a horse, put the bag and her small child in front 



36 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

of her, and rode all the way to Westport over the Biddlecome 
Road to get the corn ground into meal. She forded the An- 
sable River at a point a little south of Biddlecome 's house, 
which would seem to indicate that the trail came out there. 

This Biddlecome Road was soon given a more pictur- 
esque name. It was in spots, of course, exceedingly narrow 
and rough, and some traveler, after coming over it, remarked 
that he had gotten through, but that *'it was tight nipping." 
This at once became a designation for the road or its worst 
parts, and for many years people spoke of coming or going 
''through Tight-Nipping." Whereby hangs another story— 
for it was in "Tight-Nipping" that the famous "Allen's Bear 
Fight up in Keene" took place. 

Anson H. Allen, the hero of the tale, was a printer and pub- 
lisher born in 1806. He started several papers in different 
places, and finally settled in Keeseville and began publishing 
a paper called "The Old Settler," after which he was popu- 
larly known as "Old Settler Allen." In 1840 he was ap- 
pointed to take the census of Essex County. This he did in 
person, making a house-to-house canvass. While traveling to 
North Elba from Keene Valley, in the wildest part of the 
"Tight-Nipping" road, he was attacked by a huge she-bear. 
A long and fierce struggle ensued, but the census-taker finally 
came off victor. Thereafter, of course, he delighted to re- 
count the adventure, which lost nothing in picturesqueness by 
his constant retelling. It spread like a saga through the 
countr>"-side, and was taken as a theme by two creative artists. 
One made an oil-painting of the titanic struggle, which a few 
years ago was in the possession of the hero's son Frederick 
P. Allen of Troy. I have seen a small photograph of this 
painting, which gives the impression that its artistic merit is 
subordinate to its historical interest. 

The other creative impulse resulted in a poem entitled: 
"Allen's Bear Fight up in Keene." It was penned by some 
inglorious Milton whose name I have not been able to dis- 
cover. The poem itself, however, enjoyed a remarkable popu- 
larity throughout the Adirondack region. It is still remem- 
bered and quoted by those who delight to reminisce. It runs 
as follows: 



KEENE VALLEY 37 



ALLEN'S BEAR FIGHT UP IN KEENE 

Of all the wonders of the day, 
There 's one that I can safely say 
Will stand upon the rolls of fame, 
To let all know bold Allen's name. 
The greatest fight that e'er was seen, 
Was Allen's bear fight up in Keene. 

In 1S40, as I 've heard. 
To take the census off he steered. 
Through bush and wood for little gain, 
He walked from Keene to Abrani'a plain; 
But naught of this — it is not well 
His secret motives thus to tell. 

As through the wood he trudged his way, 
His mind unruffled as the day, 
He heard a deep convulsive sound, 
Which shook the earth and trees around, 
And looking up with dread amaze. 
An old she-bear there met his gaze. 

The bear with threatening aspect stood, 
To prove her title to the wood. 
This Allen saw with darkening frown, 
He reached and pulled a young tree down, 
Then on his guard, with cautious care, 
He watched the movements of the bear. 

Against the rock with giant strength, 
He held her out at his arm's length. 
Oh, God! he cried in deep despair. 
If you don't help me, don't help the bear. 
'T was rough and tumble, tit for tat, 
The nut cakes fell from Allen's hat. 

Then from his pocket forth he drew, 
A large jack-knife for her to view. 
He raised his arm high in the air, 
And butcher-like, he killed the bear. 

Let old men talk of courage bold, 
Of battles fought in days of old, 
Ten times as bad, but none I ween, 
Can match a bear fight up in Keene.i 

1 There is a striking similarity between this old poem and a recent popular song 
entitled '"The Preacher and the Bear." The latter was brought out by the Victor 
Company as record No. 17221, 



38 A HISTORY OF THE ADIEONDACKS 

The village of Keene Valley soon became a distinctive cen- 
ter for painters, and was the only spot in the Adirondacks 
where they congregated in numbers. At one time as many as 
twenty-one were living and working there. The one who be- 
came most lastingly associated with the place and attracted 
many of the others to it, was R. M. Shurtleff, who made it his 
summer home for over forty years. His widow still spends 
her summers there, and through her kindness I have had 
placed at my disposal an autobiographical sketch which Mr. 
Shurtleff was fortunately induced to write shortly before his 
sudden death in 1915. It contains not only the stirring events 
of his early life, but many later ones that have historical 
value for these pages. 

Eoswell Morse Shurtleff was born at Rindge, N. H., in 1839. 
He entered Dartmouth College, but did not graduate; partly 
because he was too fond of drawing caricatures, and partly 
because he found he could not study art there. After leaving 
he roamed around for a while, trying his hand at different 
trades — machine-drafting, architecture, drawing on stone, and 
making water-color sketches. He spent a year or two in Bos- 
ton, drawing on wood for a living, and attending evening art 
classes at the Lowell Institute. In 1860 lie went to New York 
and did illustrating for ''Leslie's Weekly," while continuing 
his art studies at the School of Design. His work caught the 
attention of P. T. Barnum, for w^hom he subsequently made 
many posters and pictorial advertisements. 

When the Civil War broke out he was among the first to 
enlist, joining the 99th New York Volunteers. He was ap- 
pointed adjutant to Colonel Bartlett, with the rank of Lieu- 
tenant. In July, 1861, while out with a scouting party, he was 
wounded and taken prisoner. The next eight months were 
spent in Southern hospitals and prisons, and then he was re- 
leased on parole. On his way home to visit his mother in 
Winchendon, Conn., he met his future wife Miss Clara Halli- 
day, to whom he was ultimately married on June 14, 1867. 

After this visit he was called to New York to take charge of 
all New York State paroled prisoners. He was released of 
this command only shortly before the end of the war, and he 
then took a position with the ''Illustrated News," In 1868 



KEENE VALLEY 39 

he went to Hartford to do some work for a publisher, and re- 
mained there for two years. On his return to New York he 
began painting in oils, doing animals at first and later land- 
scapes. This was the beginning of his career as a picture- 
painter. 

It led to notable results. His work ranks to-day among the 
best by American artists. It is honest, straightforward paint- 
ing, free from all faddism, full of fine feeling and dreamy 
delicacy. He became distinctively, and almost exclusively, a 
painter of the Adirondacks. He studied them lovingly for 
forty years, and caught their moods and mysteries as no one 
else has done. One of his pictures is in the Metropolitan 
Museum of New York, several are in the Corcoran Art Gal- 
lery of Washington, and many are in other public and private 
collections. 

Two incidents of Mr. Shurtleff's war experiences are of 
such general interest as to deserve mention here. He was the 
first Union ofificer to be wounded and captured, and he carried 
the first flag to be taken by the Confederates. It was ulti- 
mately returned to him by his captor Colonel Sandidge, with 
whom he became the best of friends. It is a small flag about 
two feet wide and four feet long, and still shows the blood- 
stains from Lieutenant Shurtleff's w^ound. 

His other contribution to Civil AVar history hinges on the 
probability that, unintentionally, he designed the Confederate 
flag. How this came about had best he told in his own words. 
It happened while he was in the hospital at Richmond. 

I read in the Richmond papers of mistal<es made in the Bull Run 
fight through their having no battle flag; on several occasions having 
fired on their own men. This led me to designing a flag, and my 
sketch book was filled with various suggestions for such an emblem. 
It was done solely for my own amusement, with never a thought that 
anyone else w^ould ever be interested in it. But one design took the 
eye of the surgeon, who asked me to make a copy of it in color, that 
he would like to send it to a little girl. I readily complied, and was 
much snrprised a few weeks later when he told me that the little girl 
for whom he wanted it was the daughter of General Beauregard, and 
that the General had had a flag made like it, and had used it in a 
recent battle ; and that he thought I might be sent home as a reward. 



40 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

Whether this was the origin of the Confederate flag or not, I do not 
know, but from my recollection, I think my design was the same as 
that afterwards adopted — the "Southern Cross" with seven stars. 
The color was a red ground, with blue cross and white stars. 

Mr. Shurtleff 's first visit to the Adirondacks was in August 
of 1858. A desire to see these wonderful mountains had been 
awakened by reading about them in Hammond's "Hills, 
Lakes, and Forest Streams." The opportunity came by mer- 
est chance. In the hotel where he was staying at the time, he 
met a Harvard graduate who said he was going to the Adiron- 
dacks to write a book about them. This gentleman offered to 
take young ShurtletT along and pay his expenses, as well as 
the cost of making some illustrations for the proposed volume. 
The offer was enthusiastically accepted. 

The promoter of the scheme turned out to be a rascal, who 
was seeking the tall timber for seclusion instead of literature. 
After borrowing all of his victim's money, he decamped one 
night and left him strapped and stranded in the woods. Mr. 
Shurtleff, however, who always made friends wherever he 
went, managed to turn the adventure into a pleasant and 
profitable one. Out of it grew his lifelong love of the moun- 
tains and a very practical knowledge of woodcraft. 

He made his headquarters at Keese's Mill, then as now a 
small lumbering-hamlet at the head of the St. Regis River, 
near Paul Smith's. It consisted of half a dozen shanties and 
one comfortable house, in which lived Tom O'Neil, who was 
manager of the mill. Here Mr. Shurtleff boarded. He calls 
O'Neil one of nature's noblemen, both in heart and physique. 
The host's favorite after-dinner relaxation was to take the 
rim of a barrel or the back of a chair between his teeth, and 
lift either to a horizontal position. It made his jaws feel 
good, he said. 

Mr. Shurtleff camped both on St. Regis Lake and Follans- 
bee Pond. On the latter he used a ''birch bark covered camp 
that had just been vacated by a party of Harvard professors, 
including Agassiz." This was, of course, the Philosophers* 
Camp. He also speaks of finding in the outlet of Follansbee, 
a stream some two miles long, more than thirty beaver dams 
over which the boat had to be dragged. Many years later 



KEENE VALLEY 41 

while glancing over William C. Prime's '*I Go A-Fishing," he 
chanced on the author's description of his first trip up the 
FoUansbee outlet in 1860, and the remark that there had been 
a great number of beaver dams, but that some one had partly 
destroyed them. Mr. Shurtleff wrote on the margin : ' ' I did 
it with my little axe." 

On this trip he met A. F. Tait the artist, who was camping 

on Bay Pond, and who was one of the earliest painters of 

Adirondack scenes. Mr. Tait was very friendly, and offered 

to further in any way he could Mr. Shurtleff 's desire to be- 

. come an artist. 

Shurtleff 's next visit to the woods was nine years later, in 
the summer of 1867. He and some friends returned to his old 
haunts at Keese's Mill and St. Regis Lake. He found that 
changes had crept in everywhere. Paul Smith's had begun to 
be a fashionable hotel, and the adjacent streams no longer 
yielded the quick-filled creels of the early days. The summer 
vacationist was beginning to be ubiquitous. 

In 1868 he took up his residence in Hartford, and there saw 
the forest pictures of John Fitch. These were mostly scenes 
around Keene Valley, and they so appealed to Mr. Shurtleff 
that he decided to go there. He was accompanied by Dwight 
Tryon, the artist, who had just begun painting, though still 
holding a commercial position as bookkeeper. The first, 
early morning glimpse of Keene Valley made a deep impres- 
sion on Mr. Shurtleff. It became his favorite Adirondack 
nook, and ultimately his summer home. He stopped at first 
at Crawford's, where he began painting from nature and pro- 
ducing some of the canvases that were to make him famous. 

In the summer of 1869, A. H. Wyant, urged by Mr. Shurtleff, 
came to the valley, liked it, and did much painting there. He 
became so fond of it that, in 1875, he bought a tract of land 
and erected a small studio-house. The following summer he 
suggested that the Shurtleffs should share his new home. 
This they did, but for one season only, as the accommodations 
proved a little too cramped for comfort. The next year they 
returned to Crawford's, and continued to go there until they 
built a home of their own. This came about quite unexpect- 
edly. 



42 A HISTORY OF THE ADIEONDACKS 

Going to a favorite spot to paint, one day, Mr. Shurtleff 
found choppers at work and a fire started in the woods. In- 
quiring the reason of Mr. Dibble, the o^vner of the land and of 
the Tahawus House, he learned that a beautiful bit of primeval 
forest just back of the hotel was to be burned over for a sheep 
pasture. As sentimental arguments proved of no avail as a 
means of dissuasion, Mr. Shurtleff was led to inquire how 
much the land was worth. He was informed that it had very 
little value in the owner's eyes, and could be bought for a 
mere song. Mr. Shurtleff made an offer for twenty acres 
around the doomed spot, on condition that the fires be put out 
at once. The offer was accepted, and Mr. Shurtleff became a 
very sudden landholder in Keene Valley. Soon after, about 
1882, he bought a larger tract of 160 acres, lying to the south 
and west of the original one. It was a timely purchase, for 
the increasing popularity of the valley soon sent land prices 
soaring. From a dollar an acre they crept gradually into the 
hundreds. 

It was not till 1885 that Mr. Shurtleff felt able to build on 
his new possessions. He and his wife drew their own plans, 
and then had them put into working shape by an architect 
friend. They were the first set of plans ever used in the 
valley, and Crawford, who took the building-contract, was 
emphatic in his hope that they would be the last. He declared 
them to be the ''damndest confusionest things" he had ever 
seen. 

A house resulted, however, and a very cozy and comfortable 
one. Its unique feature is a large studio, A\dth northern light 
and an open fireplace. The walls are twenty feet high, and the 
ceiling is domed in with a huge Japanese umbrella sixteen feet 
in diameter — one of the largest ever imported into this coun- 
try. The building stands on a little plateau of land a hundred 
feet or so above the valley. It is opposite Spread Eagle 
Mountain and the Giant, and commands a panoramic view of 
the adjacent ridges. Just back of the house is the slope of a 
densely wooded hillside, and on the edge of these woods is a 
huge, towering boulder of imposing grandeur. Mr. Shurtleff 
always knew that this was very large and very beautiful, but, 



KEENE VALLEY 4;'> 

until some geologists visited the spot, he did not know that he 
probably owned the biggest boulder in the country. 

According to i\rr. Shurtleff, John Fitch was the first profes- 
sional painter to discover Keene Valley and transfer its beau- 
ties to canvas. As early as 1852, however, an amateur artist 
named Perkins had strayed into the valley and been captivated 
by its charms. He found a home at the Bruce farm (later 
** Dibble's"), where he stayed for eighteen months, paying a 
dollar and a half a week for board and lodging ! 

William Hart was another early arrival in the valley. A. 
H. Wyant has been mentioned. Among those who came later 
were: James and George Smillie, Samuel Coleman, Words- 
worth Thompson, Arthur and Ernest Parton, Carleton Wig- 
gins, George McCord, A. H. Hekking, Edward Gay, Winslow 
Homer, J. C. Trotman, Gedney Bunce, Robert Miner, Alden 
Weir, Alpheus Cole, Joseph Boston, Robert Van Boskorck, 
Miss Piatt, and George C. Parker, who resides permanently 
in the valley. 

Alden Weir bought and built on land adjoining Mr. Shurt- 
leff 's. The Smillies and Wyant were the only others to build 
homes for themselves. All of these artists did more or less 
work in the valley, but none of them linked it to their later 
fame as did Mr. Shurtleff. He made it the rock on which he 
built; the others used it merely as a stepping-stone. 

For several years the summer visitors were almost exclu- 
sively these artists and their friends. The landscape on a 
pleasant day would be widely dotted with white umbrellas, 
looking like large toadstools that had growm up over night. 
As these painters sent their pictures to the exhibitions, they 
began to attract the attention of people of wealth, who were 
thereby lured into the valley. Among the first of this class 
were the Ranneys of New Jersey. Miss Nancy Ranney, the 
aunt of those now in the valley, bought the McKenzie farm in 
1865, in partnership with Dr. Normand Smith and John Fitch. 
The agreement w^as that none of them should marry — but 
Cupid was quick to call the bluff. The two men soon resigned 
from the club, and Miss Ranney bought out their interest. 
After her death the house was sold to D. M. Walbridge, and 



44 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

then to Miss Fannie Falk of New York, who tore down the old 
building and put up the fine new one that stands on the site to- 
day. Near it is a house built by Timothy Ranney in 1873, 
and now occupied by the family. 

Mrs. Timothy Ranney at one time wrote down some of her 
memories of Keene Valley when she first came to it in 1864. 
I have been allowed to see this paper and to cull some in- 
teresting facts from its pages. 

In 1856 the valley had suffered severely from freshets 
caused by heavy rains and by the bursting of the dam on 
Lower Ausable Lake, where David Hale had his sawmill. The 
fences and bridges carried away at this time had not been 
replaced in 1864, and the cattle roamed at will where fancy 
led them. From Holt's Corners to Beede's only ten houses 
could be counted. Two were painted red, two white; while 
the rest retained their native ** wood-color." There was no 
store, post-office, or church in the place. The mail came from 
Keene Center twice a week and religious services were held in 
the little red school-house.^ 

The Ranneys all boarded for a while with Joseph Bruce, 
whose house had once accommodated the early school. They 
paid three dollars and a half a week. They had plenty of 
vegetables, but tasted meat only when a native ** critter" was 
killed. Maple sugar was the only sweetener used for cook- 
ing or drinking purposes. Life in the valley, in short, was 
divorced from everything that smacked of luxury — excepting 
for the eyes. 

Others who came about this time were the Misses Dunham 
and Miss Libby Hammersley, both of Hartford, Conn. The 
Dunhams bought the old Spooner place, which had been built 
around 1800, and which they never greatly altered. The old 
house is now owned and occupied, in the summer, by a niece of 
the Dunhams.^ 

1 There was, however, a church organization (Congregational) in the Town as 
early as IS'28, and the Methodists organized in 1833. 

- The present Keene Valley Library traces back to Miss Sarah Dunham. About 
1880 she gave $200 for the nucleus of a circulating library. In 1890 the Rev. 
J. M. Perry organized a public library, which was housed over B. B. Estes's store. 
In 1895 Miss Dunham gave $800 toward a building-fund. This was increased by 
entertainments to $1,500, and the present structure was erected in 1896. 



KEENE VALLEY 45 

In 1875 John Matthews of New York built a unique and 
costly bungalow on the old Baxter Farm, north of the village. 
He called his new home ''Brook Knoll Lodge." The outside 
was of shaggy cedar logs, with many gables, balconies, and 
dormer-windows. The inside was finished in native and im- 
ported woods, and elegantly furnished. It was by far the 
most pretentious and beautiful residence that had been built 
in the valley. 

Dr. Normand Smith, previously mentioned, was brought in 
by John Fitch. The young doctor took such a fancy to the 
place that he tried to induce his father, a man of large means, 
to buy the entire valley. The father demurred, but after his 
death his son bought large tracts of land on both sides of the 
river, and undoubtedly saved much of the forest from the 
lumberman's ax. 

Dr. Smith was for years a prominent and popular figure in 
the valley, and his death was mourned by every one. His 
former home, though near the village, is hidden by the Nott- 
man Hill. It is a feature of the valley that most of the private 
residences are more or less obscured from view. They are 
built along the rising ground among the wooded hills and 
knolls on each side, and only a bit of gable or a chimney peeps 
out here and there. 

Besides the artist colony a number of eminent professional 
men made Keene Valley their summer home. Among these 
were: Dr. Noah Porter of Yale, and Professor George P. 
Fischer; Professor William James of Harvard, and Professor 
Fiske of Cornell; Charles Dudley Warner, Dean Sage, Dr. 
Felix Adler, his brother Isaac, and their brother-in-law. Dr. 
Sachs ; Dr. Charles Laight, Dr. William Pennington, the Rev. 
William H. Hodge of Philadelphia, the Rev. James B. Shaw 
of Rochester, the Rev. Horace Bushnell, the Rev. Joseph H. 
Twichell of Hartford, and the Rev. William L. Kingsley. 

This is rather an impressive roster of distinguished names, 
and it is notable that nearly all of the men achieved an unusual 
degree of popularity among the people of their summer home. 
Several of them, indeed, were specialists in good-fellowship. 
Dr. Porter was not the least of these, and his memory is kept 
green by a mountain that still bears his name. One of the 



46 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

higher near-by peaks, lying northwest of the valley toward 
the Cascade Lakes, had from time immemorial been called 
West Mountain. After the President of Yale had been coming 
to the valley for four or five years, about 1875, some one sug- 
gested that West Mountain be changed to Porter Mountain. 
It was done by unanimous consent and the most surprising co- 
operation. Usually there is nothing more difficult than to in- 
duce people to call a familiar landmark by a new name, but 
in this case even habit seemed to offer no resistance to the 
change. So Porter Mountain looms to-day as a memorial 
monument to the man whom all Keene Valley delighted to 
honor. 

The doctor had a deep love for this part of the Adiron- 
dacks. His favorite lake was the Upper Ausable, and when 
his waning strength warned him that he had camped upon its 
shores for the last time, he asked his guide, Melville Trum- 
bull, to roM^ him around it on a farewell tour. Pausing here 
and there to glimpse some well-loved vista, the doctor sat in 
silent contemplation, while the tears welled in his eyes. The 
old guide said it was the saddest thing he ever saw. 

Dr. Bushnell was another great favorite in the valley, and 
his name is still linked with a lovely spot beside it. Way 
up John's Brook, near the slopes of Marcy, are some pic- 
turesque falls that are knowTi to-day as Bushnell Falls. They 
were a favorite haunt of the good doctor, and the guides named 
them in his honor. He, like Dr. Porter, was an indefatigable 
tramper of the woods, although he was an invalid and finally 
succumbed to tuberculosis. 

Dr. Twichell, the third of this notable triumvirate, did not 
leave his name in the woods,^ but he left a memory very dear 
to all who knew him. And who in Keene Valley did not know 
''Chaplain Joe," of Sickle's 71st, with his jovial face and 
much-resounding laugh! Who, of the men, did not wait for 
him after a Sunday sorv^ice, to stroll into the woods and swap 
a war-time story in the protective smoke of peaceful pipes! 

It has been said that Keene Valley was formerly called 

1 Tliere is a Twitchell Lake near Big Moose, in the Brown's Tract section. It is 
sometimes supposed to ho named for Dr. Twicliell, but it was named for a guide 
who spelt his name with a "t." 



KEENE VALLEY 47 

Keene Flats, and Mr. Shurtleff* thinks that the name originated 
with Orson Phelps. It was suggested by the various plateaus 
on each side of the valley, formed, the geologists say, when 
the latter was the bed of a great lake. 

In speaking of the unmarred beauty of the spot in 1870, 
Mr. Shurtleff says : 

After leaving the main road at the foot of "Spruce Hill," and 
following the narrow grass-grown driveway up the valley, and ford- 
ing the river near the Shaw place, only two or three small farmhouses 
were in sight until one reached John's Brook; from there and on to 
the end of the valley, and the road at Beede's, there were but five or 
six houses, and some of them merely log-cabhis. 

The road followed the course of the river ; scarcely any fences were 
seen, and, with the open fields on one side, and glimpses of the river 
and the cloud-touched mountains through the trees, it was like a beau- 
tiful park ! 

The few inhabitants were hospitable and kindly. It was a very 
paradise for sportsmen. In the fall of the year every hill-top had its 
deer yard, and it was a very common occurrence for the farmers to 
find two or three deer in company with their cows in the stable yard 
when they went out for the morning milking. The river and the 
brooks were alive with trout. For several years T could fill my basket 
and provide a breakfast for twenty people in an hour's fishing. 

Among the odd characters in the valley was an old man 
known to every one as * ' Father Kent. ' ' Ho was tall, lean, and 
angular. His nose was broken and his lower eyelids drooped. 
He was deaf, but a regular attendant at church in the lit- 
tle school-house. He thus qualified his moral standing: 
*'Mr. Estes is the piousest man in Keene Flats, but I enj'y the 
most religion." On weeks days he would visit up and dowm 
the valley. While making a call he always whittled at a short 
birch stick. On taking leave he would hand the stick, with its 
little bunch of attached shavings — like a wooden bouquet — to 
the housewife, for her morning fire. It is reported of this 
same Father Kent that in his early years he threatened to 
publicly accuse of witchcraft an erratic and unfriendly neigh- 
bor. I have not been able to discover either the exact cause 
of the threat or the name of the offending lady, but the gen- 
oral fact is remembered by several old residents. If authen- 



48 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

tic, it is the only intimation of witchcraft I have ever heard 
connected with the Adirondacks. 

The growing popularity of Keene Valley naturally caused 
many boarding-places and small hotels to be opened. Among 
the earliest and most popular were ''Dibble's" (later the 
TahawTis House, which burned in 1908), Munroe Holt's Spread 
Eagle Cottage, and "Crawford's." These three places were 
all near the center of the village, others wore scattered along 
the road in both directions. To the north was " Washbond's," 
and the Estes House ; to the south was the Maple Grove Moun- 
tain House, run by Henry Washbond ; and about a mile farther 
off, on the rising ground at the head of the valley and near 
Wy ant's studio, was ''Hull's," run by Otis H. Hull. 

At the head of the valley were the two famous Beede places. 
One of them is now St. Hubert's Inn, to which the site of the 
other belongs. The smaller tavern was one built by Phineas 
Beede about 1877. It stood at the fork of the roads, where 
Roaring Brook joins the Ausable River. Soon after it was 
built Phineas Beede died, and his widow and daughter ran 
the place. This caused it to be called the "Widow Beede 's," 
a designation which stuck to it for many years and through 
several changes, despite the fact that it was really run and 
managed by the daughter and not by the widow. 

This daughter Alma Beede married R. R. Stetson, and she 
and her husband continued to run the hotel, advertising it un- 
der the high-sounding name of the "Astor House." Stetson 
died after a few years, and later his widow married a Mr. 
Finney, and the hotel was sometimes given his name, but lo- 
cally it was nearly always called the "Widow Beede 's." It 
was torn down years ago, and a modern building belonging 
to the Ausable Club now occupies the site. 

ST. Hubert's inn 

In 1858 Smith Beede bought 600 acres of land, for which he 
paid the unusual price of 2,000 bushels of wheat. The pur- 
chase included the wonderful bit of tableland on the trail to the 
Ausable Lakes. Here, on a site of unsurpassed wildness and 
beauty, in 1876, he erected a hotel that bore his name and 
became known far and wide as " Beede 's." The original 



KEENE VALLEY 49 

structure was one hundred and five feet long and three stories 
high. After ten years of overcrowded success the house was 
considerably enlarged, but still failed to meet the measure of 
its popularity. The Alp-like beauty of the spot, combined 
with its nearness to the twin Ausable Lakes, made it a moun- 
tain Mecca. 

Smith Beede's eldest son Orlando was associated with him 
in the hotel, and gradually superseded his father in the cares 
of management. Smith Beede died in 1891, at the age of 
seventy-two. Orlando still survives 1920, and now owns 
and runs the Keene Valley Inn, lying in the very center of the 
village. This was originally Blinn's Hotel, built in 1882. 

Orlando and his father sold the Beede House and land to 
the Adirondack Mountain Reserve Club in 1890. Just before 
the deed passed, in March of the same year, the hotel burned 
down. Not knowing how this might affect the deal, the 
Beedes began to rebuild at once. The club wanted the land 
more than the building, however, so the matter was adjusted 
and the sale went through. The new owners completed the 
work of reconstruction, and called the new house **St. Hu- 
bert's Inn," which name it still bears. 

St. Hubert was a patron saint of hunted deer. In his youth 
he was a wild and reckless scion of nobility, who offended the 
proprieties by hunting on fast and holy days. One Good 
Friday, when he was beating the woods for game, a beautiful 
stag suddenly rose before him with a crucifix shining brightly 
between its antlers. The astounded young man then heard a 
voice reprimanding the ruthless hunter and preaching com- 
passion for the hunted. He was frightened into conversion on 
the spot, and became so ardent a game protector that he was 
ultimately sainted — something which, it is needless to point 
out, has never happened to any of his apostolic succession. 

The inn, therefore, is most appropriately named, for it is 
the headquarters of a club which makes the protection of game 
and the surrounding forest its special care. The name of the 
organization is now the Ausable Lake and Mountain Club, 
controlling the Adirondack Mountain Reserve. The latter 
was incorporated in 1887, and owtis all of Township 48, Tot- 
ten and Crossfield's Purchase. This contains 28,000 acres 



50 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

and holds the Upper and Lower Ausable Lakes. The public is 
still admitted to them under certain restrictions, however, and 
also to the inn. 

THE GLENMORE SUMMER SCHOOL 

This was another and the most notable instance of the lure 
of Keene Valley for the intellectual. Glenmore was a moun- 
tain farm of 166 acres on East Hill, the western slope of 
Mount Hurricane. It lay over a thousand feet above the 
valley, about two miles north of Kecne Center, and com- 
manded a glorious view. Starting in the original farm-house, 
the school gradually erected a dozen or more detached build- 
ings. 

It was founded in 1889 by Professor Thomas Davidson, 
known among intellectuals as "the wandering scholar," and 
ranked by one of them ^ with the twelve most learned men in 
the world. His learning was indeed prodigious. He spoke 
the leading dead and living languages with equal facility, and 
had read every classic work in all of them. He had, moreover, 
a marvelously retentive memorA% and could quote chapter and 
verse for any theory he defended or attacked. But he car- 
ried his great knowledge lightly and imparted it modestly. 
He was considered at his best when discoursing informally 
to a few sympathetic listeners, lingering over a finished meal 
or gathered in a woodland stoppinir-place. At such times his 
conversation overflowed with a bubbling, unconscious erudi- 
tion, and left behind it the impress of contagious enthusiasm. 
He was a born disliker of the formal, and essentially a rover 
both in thought and action. He did not seek to bequeath the 
world a system of his own, but rather to point out all that 
was best in the existing systems. 

There was nothing of the pedant either in his manner or 
appearance. He was rather a large, stout, healthy-looking 
man, with a kindly, rounded face that bosnoke a cultured 
geniality of disposition. Besides superficial charm of per- 
sonality, he had the deeper something we call magnetism. 
He was liked as much as comrade and companion as he was 
reverenced as a teacher. 

1 William Clarke in The Spectator. 



KEENE VALLEY 51 

He was born in an obscure Scottish hamlet in 1840. He 
attended a very good parochial school where his remarkable 
gifts soon made him a teacher as well as a scholar. At six- 
teen years of age he w^on a competitive scholarship at the 
University of Aberdeen from which, after winning several 
others, he was graduated with honors in 18G0. Then began his 
unusual career of peripatetic teaching, with interludes of 
travel all over Europe. He went everywhere, but stayed 
nowhere. Finally he crossed the ocean into Canada, then 
crossed the border into the United States, and ultimately 
drifted into Keene Valley. Here he found the ideal location 
for the dream of a lifetime. Here he stayed longer than he 
had ever stayed in any other place before, and here in 1900 
he died and was buried.^ 

The general scheme of the Glenmore School can best be 
given by quoting from the founder's prospectus: 

The aim of the school, therefore, will be twofold — (1) scientific, 
(2) practical. The former it will seek to reacli by means of lectures 
on the general outlines of the history and theory of the various cul- 
ture sciences, and by classes, conversations, and carefully directed pri- 
vate study in regard to their details. The latter it will endeavor to 
realize by encouraging its members to conduct their life in accordance 
with the highest ascertainable ethical laws, to strive after "plain 
living and high thinking," to discipline themselves in simplicity, 
kindliness, thoughtfulness, helpfulness, regularity, and promptness. 

In the life at Glenmore an endeavor will be made to combine solid 
study and serious conversation with reinvigorating rest and abundant 
and delightful exercise. It is hoped that this may become a place of 
annual gathering for open-minded persons interested in the serious 
things of life. . . . The retirement and quiet of Glenmore seem espe- 
cially favorable for such things, and the numerous picnics and eve- 
ning bonfires in the woods offer provision for the lighter moods. . . . 
Every meal at Glenmore will be opened by a few minutes' reading. 

The school traced back to the Concord School of Philosophy, 
in which Professor Davidson had a formative share, and 
which he attempted to duplicate at Farmington, Conn., before 

1 Tliose wisliin? for more details than can be piven here, will find them in 
Mrniorials of Thomas Davidson, by William Knight. Ginn and Company, Boston 
and London. 1907. 



52 A HISTORY OF THE ADIEONDACKS 

moving to the Adirondacks. Glenmore was, therefore, but the 
final and more permanent housing of these tentative begin- 
nings. They, in turn, were the outgrowth of societies which he 
had founded both here and abroad, and which he called the 
"Fellowship of the New Life," for the idea of fellowship — 
the essential brotherhood of man — was basic to all his efforts. 
He hoped that Glenmore would in time cease to be a prepara- 
tory school and would develop into a perpetual and inde- 
pendent colony of the elect. 

In this he was disappointed, but the school itself lasted 
longer than such Utopian ventures usually do, and to that ex- 
tent must be accounted a success. The attendance was actu- 
ally small but comparatively large. Shredded Greek for 
breakfast is obviously not for the many, and only the chosen 
few can express their lighter moods around the camp fire by 
discussing Kant^s "Pure Reason," or Aristotle's "Ni<}0- 
machean Ethics." 

But there is no doubt that these few carried away the last- 
ing impress of an uplifting experience, dominated by the per- 
sonality of a remarkable man. No sincerer pathfinder ever 
blazed the upland trails of thought than he who taught among 
the groves of Glenmore. If his message was too intellectual 
for the masses, it was still intended to benefit them ultimately. 
Nor did he hold himself aloof from personal efforts to up- 
lift them. The last two winters of his life were devoted to 
what he called the "Breadwinners' College," a settlement 
for Russian Jews on the East Side of New York. 

After his death in 1900, two of his disciples, Professor 
C. M. Bakewell of Yale, and Stephen F. Weston, Dean of An- 
tioch College, attempted to carry on the Glenmore School. 
But it depended too much on the personality of its lost leader 
to thrive without him. Disintegration set in, and the school 
was closed. It passed into other hands and was reopened 
as a summer boarding-place. 



CHAPTER XXXIII 
OLD MOUNTAIN PHELPS 

OESON SCHOFIELD PHELPS, guide and philosopher, 
belonged to Keene Valley and Charles Dudley Warner. 
He lived in the shade of the one, and in the light of the 
other. He was not a great guide. Indeed, many did not 
consider him even a good one. He delighted in showing the 
way but not in preparing the camp. His neighbors openly 
rated him as both lazy and shiftless, and of no genius could it 
more truly be said that he was not a hero to his valley. He 
went hunting or fishing as a housewife goes to market. What 
he lacked in sporting zest, however, was offset by a love of 
nature and a poetic cast of thought that made him a favorite 
with some of the most intellectual men of his day. 

He was born in Wethersfield, Vt., on May 6, 1817. About 
1830 he came into the Schroon Lake country with his father, 
who was a surveyor. The elder Phelps had to trace out some 
old lot lines, and Ms boy helped him. Their work gave them 
a glimpse of some of the higher mountains, and Orson con- 
ceived a youthful but abiding love for them. He returned 
home with his father, but only to wait for an opportunity of 
coming back to the wilderness. He made it a year or two 
later by finding employment at the Adirondack Iron Works. 
He stayed there till Mr. Henderson's death. Then he turned 
from a commercial career to the more congenial freedom of 
an outdoor life. He wandered over to Keene Valley and set- 
tled there permanently. He married a native maiden by the 
name of Melinda Lamb, who developed oddities of tempera- 
ment and tricks of speech that matched well with those of 
her more conspicuous spouse. She never fell under the charm 
of Mr. Warner's pen, however, and so remained in the penum- 
bra of the literary lime-light that was focused on her hus- 
band. 

After his marriage, Phelps built a little home for himself 

53 



54 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

and wife in a cozy nook near Prospect Hill, a little off the 
main road. Near the house is a bubbling stream and some 
pretty falls, to which Phelps's name has been attached. In 
this spot he lived and died. His hobby, which developed into 
a remunerative specialty, was climbing mountains. This ex- 
clusiveness led to his being called ''Old Mountain Phelps" — 
a name in which he took both pride and pleasure. When 
asked to lead the way up some unfamiliar trail, he would 
often say: ''So you want Old Mountain Phelps to show you 
the way, do you? Well, I callerlate he kin do it." 

His favorite mountain was Marcy, and he boasted of hav- 
ing climbed it over a hundred times. In 1849 he blazed the 
first trail to its summit from the east, going in from Lower 
Ausable Lake and then passing Haystack and the head of 
Panther Gorge. Later he cut what was known as the Bartlett 
Mountain trail. About 1850 he guided two ladies over it to 
the summit of Marcy. They were the first women to make 
the complete ascent, and the feat of getting them safely to 
the top and back gave Phelps his first local renown.^ 

Old Phelps, like Dr. Johnson, owes the lasting and intimate 
quality of his fame to a clever biographer. In the "Atlantic" 
for May, 1878, Charles Dudley Warner published an essay en- 
titled "The Primitive Man," ^ introducing a new discovery to 
the world — an unwashed Thoreau of guidedom. As a re- 
sult Old Phelps awoke one morning to find himself famous. 
He inquired into the cause, read it, and liked it. Thereafter 
he devoted himself, too obviously at times, to living up to the 
literary halo in which he had been most unexpectedly lassoed. 
It was a big halo and it got around his feet and tripped him 
up now and then, so that disappointed pilgrims returned from 
his shrine to accuse Warner of having raised exaggerated 

1 In tliis connection it is of interest to note that when Mr. Lossing, the his- 
torian, made an ascent of Marcy from the west, about 1860, he was accompanied 
by his wife. In speaking of the hardships of the climb for a lady, he says: "Mrs. 
Lossing, we were afterwards informed by the oldest hunter and guide in all that 
region (John Cheney), is only the third woman who has ever accomplished the 
difficult feat." (See Lossing's The Hudson, p. 30.) This would look as if Cheney 
knew of Phelps's two ladies, but had heard of no others attempting the climb in 
the interval. 

2 This will be found, slightly revised, under the caption "A Character Study," 
in the Backlog Edition of his works, Vol. VI. 



OLD MOUNTAIN PHELPS 55 

hopes. The deception, such as it was, however, was certainly 
not intentional. The writer says nothing that is not essen- 
tially true, but he says it with such grace and charm of phrase 
that we forget that a squeaky voice, the reluctance to use soap, 
and allied oddities may be less alluring in actual contact than 
in the pages of a book. This, it seems to me, is the most seri- 
ous charge that can be brought against Mr. Warner's inimi- 
table description of his primitive man. He says : 

You might be misled by the shaggy suggestion of Old Phelps's given 
name — Orson — into the notion that he was a mighty hunter, with the 
-fierce spirit of the Berserkers in his veins. Nothing could be farther 
from the truth. The hirsute and grisly sound of Orson expresses only 
his entire affinity with the untamed and the natural, an uncouth but 
gentle passion for the freedom and wildness of the forest. Orson 
Phelps has only those unconventional and humorous qualities of the 
bear which make the animal so beloved in literature; and one does not 
think of Old Phelps so much as a lover of nature, — to use the senti- 
mental slang of the period, — as a part of nature itself. 

His appearance at the time when as a "guide" he began to come 
into public notice fostered this impression, — a sturdy figure, with 
long body and short legs, clad in a woolen shirt and butternut-colored 
trousers repaired to the point of picturesqueness, his head surmounted 
by a limp, light-brown felt hat, frayed away at the top, so that his 
yellowish hair grew out of it like some nameless fern out of a pot. 
His tawny hair was long and tangled, matted now many years past 
the possibility of being entered by a comb. His features were small 
and delicate, and set in the frame of a reddish beard, the ra^or having 
mowed away a clearing about the sensitive mouth, which was not 
seldom wreathed Mith a childlike and charming smile. Out of this 
hirsute environment looked the small gray eyes, set near together ; eyes 
keen to observe, and quick to express change of thought ; eyes that 
made you believe instinct can grow into philosophic judgment. His 
feet and hands were of aristocratic smallness, although the latter were 
not worn away by ablutions; in fact, they assisted his toilet to give 
you the impression that here w^as a man who had just come out of the 
ground, — a real son of the soil, whose appearance was partially ex- 
plained by his humorous relation to soap. "Soap is a thing," he 
said, "that I hain't no kinder use for." His clothes seemed to have 
been put on him once for all, like the bark of a tree, a long time ago. 
The observant stranger was sure to be puzzled by the contrast of this 
realistic and uncouth exterior with the internal fineness, amounting to 



56 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

refinement and culture, that shone through it all. What communion 
had supplied the place of our artificial breeding to this man? 

Perhaps his most characteristic attitude was sitting on a log, with 
a short pipe in his mouth. If ever man was formed to sit on a log, it 
was Old Phelps. He was essentially a contemplative person. Walk- 
ing on a countiy road, or anywhere in the "open," was irksome to 
him. He had a shambling, loose-jointed gait, not unlike that of the 
bear: his short legs bowed out, as if they had been more in the habit 
of climbing trees than of walking. On land, if we may use that ex- 
pression, he was something like a sailor ; but, once in the rugged trail 
or the unmarked route of his native forest, he was a different person, 
and few pedestrians could compete with him. The vulgar estimate of 
his contemporaries, that reckoned Old Phelps "lazy," was simply a 
failure to comprehend the condition of his being. It is the unjustness 
of civilization that it sets up uniform and artificial standards for all 
persons. The primitive man suffers by them much as the contempla- 
tive philosopher does, when one happens to arrive in this busy, fussy 
world. 

If the appearance of Old Phelps attracts attention, his voice, when 
first heard, invariably startles the listener. A small, high-pitched, 
half-querulous voice, it easily rises into the shrillest falsetto; and it 
has a quality in it that makes it audible in all the tempests of the 
forest, or the roar of the rapids, like the piping of a boatswain's 
whistle at sea in a gale. He has a way of letting it rise as his sentence 
goes on, or when he is opposed in argument, or wishes to mount above 
other voices in the conversation, until it dominates everything. Heard 
in the depths of the woods, quavering aloft, it is felt to be as much a 
part of nature, an original force, as the northwest wind or the .scream 
of the hen-hawk. When he is pottering about the camp-fire, trying to 
light his pipe with a twig held in the flame, he is apt to begin some 
philosophical observation in a small, slow, stumbling voice, which 
seems about to end in defeat ; when he puts on some unsuspected force, 
and the sentence ends in an insistent shriek. Horace Greeley had 
such a voice, and could regulate it in the same manner. But Phelps's 
voice is not seldom plaintive, as if touched by the dreamy sadness of 
the woods themselves. 

When Old Mountain Phelps was discovered, he was, as the reader 
has already guessed, not understood by his contemporaries. His 
neighbors, farmers in the secluded valley, had many of them grown 
thrifty and prosperous, cultivating the fertile meadows, and vigor- 
ously attacking the timbered mountains; while Phelps, with not much 
more faculty of acquiring property than the roaming deer, had pur- 




■OLD MOUXTAIX" PHELPS 



OLD MOUNTAIN PHELPS 57 

sued the even tenor of the life in the forest on which he set out. 
They would have been surprised to be told that Old Phelps owned 
more of what makes the value of the Adirondacks than all of them 
put together, but it was true. This woodsman, this trapper, this 
hunter, this fisherman, this sitter on a log, and philosopher, was the 
real proprietor of the region over which he was ready to guide the 
stranger. It is true that he had not a monopoly of its geography or 
its topography (though his knowledge was superior in these respects) ; 
there were other trappers, and more deadly hunters, and as intrepid 
guides: but Old Phelps was the discoverer of the beauties and sub- 
limities of the mountains; and, when city strangers broke into the 
region, he monopolized the appreciation of these delights and wonders 
of nature. I suppose that in all that country he alone had noticed the 
sunsets, and observed the delightful processes of the seasons, taken 
pleasure in the woods for themselves, and climbed mountains solely 
for the sake of the prospect. He alone understood what was meant 
by "scenery." In the eyes of his neighbors, who did not know that 
he was a poet and a philosopher, I dare say he appeared to be a slack 
provider, a rather shiftless trapper and fisherman ; and his passionate 
love of the forest and the mountains, if it was noticed, was accounted 
to him for idleness. 

He was prone to nickname the natural wonders that he loved 
best. Mount Marcy he always called "Mercy." He held it 
to be the stateliest peak, commanding the finest view in the 
world. People would sometimes speak of the Alps or the 
Himalayas as having mountainous merit. But such idle talk 
annoyed him, and he would squelch it with a sneer. "I caller- 
late you hain't never been atop o' Mercy," he would say, and 
turn away in disgust. His own joy in standing there he ex- 
pressed as a feeling of ''heaven up-h'isted-ness." 

Loath as he was to hear his favorite ''Mercy" disparaged, 
he was very careful about overpraising it or any of his pet 
\iews. He seemed to sense the value of surprise in the reve- 
lation of natural beauties, and to have the instinct of the true 
artist for the avoidance of an anticlimax. He also brought a 
strange temperance to bear on his enjoyment of nature. He 
sipped his choicest vistas as a connoisseur sips his choicest 
wines. He once led Mr. Warner and some others to the 
Upper Ausable Lake, near which rise the uniquely beautiful 
Gothics. The party wished to camp on the south side of the 



58 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

lake, which would give them a constant view of the mountains. 
But Phelps objected, much to their surprise, and urged the 
north shore, which did not command the desired view. The 
pros and cons were debated, and finally Phelps drawled out: 
''Waal, now, them Gothics ain't the kinder scenery yer want 
ter hog down!^^ 

Outside of nature, however, there was another love and 
another influence that helped to mould his character : this was 
Horace Greeley's ''Weekly Tribune." The "Try-bune" 
Phelps called it. It became his Bible. He not only read it; 
he soaked and wallowed in it, and then oozed Greeleyisms to 
lard the lean understandings of his associates. His constant 
reference to the paper led many of his neighbors to dub him 
"Old Greeley," and, as a matter of fact, he resembled the 
eccentric editor in both looks and voice. The "Tribune" at 
this time published much of Tennyson's poetry, and Old 
Phelps became very fond of it, largely, no doubt, as Mr. 
Warner suggests, because they were both lotus-eaters. 

Despite a local aloofness engendered by his Tribunal educa- 
tion and his owti philosophical "speckerlations," he was eager 
for contact with men of real intellect. Keene Valley was un- 
usually full of them, and several of its finest spirits honored 
Phelps with their serious friendship. How much he valued 
it, the following will illustrate. The talk turned one day to 
the making of money, and Mr. Warner asked him if he would 
plan his life differently if he had it to live over again. ' ' Yes, ' ' 
he answered thoughtfully, "but not about money. To have 
had hours such as I have had in these mountains, and with 
such men as Dr. Bushnell, Dr. Shaw and Mr. Twichell, and 
others I could name, is worth all the money the world could 
give." 

He met these distinguished men on an easy footing of 
equality. He suffered from no abashed sense of their impor- 
tance. Those whom he particularly liked he called by their 
first names. He always addressed Dr. Twitchell as "Joe." 
He often visited in Hartford, where he had a married daugh- 
ter, besides several distinguished friends. One morning he 
walked into the Warner house and met Mrs. Warner coming 
downstairs. She had seen him but a couple of times and was 



OLD MOUNTAIN PHELPS 59 

not aware that they were on an intimate footing. She was, 
therefore, a little taken aback to be greeted with, ''Good 
morning, Susie ! Charlie in I " 

He tested every one by his own standards, and strangers 
stood or fell in his estimation by these alone. Nature was the 
test, and he used it much as a doctor would a toxin on a doubt- 
ful patient. After leading his subject to his laboratory, he 
would suddenly inject, through the eye, a dash of sunset or a 
dainty bit of landscape. Then he would withdraw to a log, 
and watch for the reaction. Its degree of intensity decided 
the rating. Those who didn't react became outcasts, and no 
other merits could restore them to his favor. 

He once guided two or three young girls up Mount 
''Mercy." On reaching the top they glanced around irrever- 
ently, and then fell to talking about clothes and fashions. 
They must have known that they had passed some dangerous 
spots, but the greatest danger of all they probably never 
dreamed of — the itching desire of the disgusted Phelps "ter 
kick the silly things off my mounting." 

His vocabulary was limited but extremely picturesque. He 
got his effects with few colors, as the artists say. He was 
particularly fond of working one word — like his favorite 
mountain — for all it was worth. Asked whither a to- 
morrow's tramp would lead, he produced this gem: "Waal, 
I callerlate, if they rig up the callerlation they callerlate on, 
we '11 go to the Boreas." He made a nice distinction between 
a "reg'lar walk" and a "random scoot." The former meant 
over a beaten track ; the latter, away from it. A tight place 
in the woods became a "reg'lar random scoot of a rigmarole." 
Assuring some one that no water had struck his back for forty 
years, he concluded with, "I don't believe in this etarnal soz- 
zlin'." As Dr. Twitchell once said of him, the dictionary in 
I; his mouth became as clay in the hands of the potter. 

The constant reading of the "Tribune" and frequent con- 
tact with literary men, led to an almost inevitable result : Old 
[Phelps finally burst into print, and no less a paper than the 
j" Essex County Republican" became the willing purveyor of 
|his writings. They took the form of both verse and prose, 
and ranged in subject from natural history to philosophy. 



60 A HISTORY OF THE ADIEONDACKS 

His * ' Speckerlations " in this line carried the hall-mark of the 
highest excellence — they are utterly incomprehensible to the 
average reader. One of them bore the title "Why Have 
Miracles Ceased?" 

His nature writings, on the other hand, revealed unusually 
keen observation and a gift of expression truly remarkable 
for a backwoodsman whose primitive schooling had ceased 
when he was fifteen. One of these articles, called **The 
Growth of a Tree," attracted sufficient attention to be repro- 
duced in pamphlet form.^ 

The Manager of the Beaufort Gardens, in London, sent for 
a copy, and spoke of it with commendation. Professor Peck 
of the New York Museum of Natural History wrote a per- 
sonal letter to the author after reading the pamphlet. **I 
thank you for writing it, and wish you were a botanist," he 
said. "You would do some good work with your natural apti- 
tude for close observation and your faciUties for investiga- 
tion." 

This and other of Phelps's writings were so good, compara- 
tively, that many people were inclined to believe that what 
appeared over his name was largely the result of much blue- 
penciling. I am assured, however, that such was not the case, 
and that his manuscripts underwent no radical changes in the 
editorial office. If this is so, the quality of his literary output 
is certainly surprising. I give as a sample a few verses of 
one of the best of his longer poems, which is full of primitive 
poetic feeling and of his genuine love for the mountains. 

MOUNTAIN SONG 

How dear to my heart are the glorious old mountains, 

When for thirty years past I recall scenes to view, 

Their wild mossy gorges and sweet crystal fountains 

Stand out now hefore me as vivid as new. 

Their Avalanche stript faces that glitter in sunlight 

With myriads of crystals that dazzle the eyes ; 

Their rough ragged rocks horizontal and upright, 

Proclaim their Creator must have truly been wise. 

The old feldspar mountains, with their sweet crystal fountains 

Tlie evergreen mountains we all love so well. 

1 The title-page reads: '•The drouth of a Tree from Its Germ or .SVerf, by 0. S. 
Phelps, written for the Essex County RepnhJiran and republished in pamphlet 
form — containing poem Autumn Leaves." No date. 



OLD MOUNTAIN PHELPS 61 

The deep shady forests spread over these highlands 

Of the old sable spruce and lighter green fir-tree, 

And the lovely green moss that covers the lowlands 

Combine in a picture we seldom can see. 

Then higher up still are the bare rocky summits, 

With their Matterhorn spires towering up to the sky, 

And the thick stunted fir trees that fringe the bare granite 

Can creep upward no more than five thousand feet higli. 

Tlie broad rapid rivers that flow down from your valleys, 
And brooks without number coming down from your heights. 
And long dancing cascades that glitter like lilies. 
And waterfalls singing their sweet songs in the night. 
Through the deep rock-bound chasms the waters are flowing 
O'er crystals and opals that glitter like diamonds 
In the bright rays of sunlight down through the trees dancing. 
And washed by pure water that came down from highlands. 

The clear little lakes are so peacefully sleeping, 

At the feet of these giants so tall and so grand, 

That they look like the tears of many years weeping, 

That have flown down their cheeks and have mingled with sand. 

And broader lakes still, lying in the lone forests. 

That reflect all their grandeur like mirrors of glass, 

And make the great play-ground of thousands of tourists, 

That meet here in summer their spare time to pass. 



My time is fast passing to view these grand mountains. 

And the grand scenes of Nature that about them I see. 

Of great boulder rocks and their sweet crystal fountains, 

Fresh from their Creator they have all come to me. 

And I must soon leave to unborn generations. 

Those scenes that so long have been dear to my sight, 

Who will hereafter view them with varied emotions. 

And volumes about them great Authors will write. 

Oh! the old feldspar mountains, with their sweet crystal fountains, 

The evergreen mountains we all love so well! 

Phelps lived to be eighty-eight years old — showing that lon- 
gevity has little to do with soap and water. He became very 
feeble in his last years, however, and spent them in the seclu- 
sion of his brook-side home. He also became more truly pic- 
turesque than ever. His long, matted hair and fanlike beard 
turned a most beautiful pure white, and sitting, as he often did 
in summer, in a doorway flanked with flaming sunflowers, he 
suggested a Northern Rabindranath Tagore, dreaming of a 
mountainous Nirvana. Behind him, through the open door- 



62 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

way, could be seen a kitchen festooned with many strings of 
drying apples. These appeared to offer his only visible 
means of sustenance. There was a garden, to be sure, but 
it gave the impression of being kept for contemplative pur- 
poses rather than practical ones. He also kept a store on the 
same principle, occasionally selling one of Stoddard's guide- 
books or a portrait of himself. 

During these sunset years the Rev. Samuel T. Lowrie of 
Philadelphia, who had built near by and wished to control the 
surrounding property, induced Phelps to sell on condition that 
he and his wife might live in the house until their death. Old 
Phelps died there on April 14, 1005. Soon afterward the 
widow went to live with a married daughter in Hartford, and 
died there in 1917. There were six surviving children, three 
daughters and three sons. Only one of them still lives in 
Keene Valley — a son, who is strangely reminiscent of his fa- 
ther in looks, in manner, and in a deep-seated love of nature. 
But he has never been Warnerized. 

After Phelps died and Mrs. Phelps decided to move away, 
Dr. Lowrie tore down their old home, and what might have 
been a wayside shrine for a few sentimentalists exists no 
more. Nothing but Phelps Falls remains to perpetuate the 
memory of a unique figure among Adirondack guides. He 
was held by them in but slight esteem, and was considered a 
mere fumbler at most of their arts, but he possessed one un- 
known to the best of their guild: he could hallow a ''random 
scoot" through the forests into something akin to questing 
for the Holy Grail. 



CHAPTER XXXIV 
LONG LAKE 

THIS is the longest, straightest, and narrowest lake in the 
woods, having a length of thirteen miles. In width it 
varies from a few rods to nearly a mile at the broadest point. 
In reality it is but the widened channel of the Raquette River, 
which flows into its southern extremity and out of its northern 
apex. Owing to this fact, according to Wallace, it was at one 
time called ''Wide River." Hoffman says the Indian name 
was In-ca-pah-co (anglice, Lindermere), from the predomi- 
nance of basswood, or American linden, on its shores. 

All but the extreme upper end of the lake lies in Townships 
21 and 22 of the Totten and Crossfield Purchase. Under the 
allotment of 1771 ^ the first of these, to the south, was drawn 
by Philip Livingston, while Township 22 fell to Theophilus 
Anthony. After the Revolution these two names appear to- 
gether as joint owners of the northern half of To\NTiship 22, 
but by 1786 Anthony appears to have become the sole owner. 

His name, moreover, is still perpetuated in the township. 
A little west of Long Lake, and just back of Buck Mountain, 
are three small but very beautiful little lakes, known as the 
Anthony Ponds. Each one is different, and they have a pro- 
gressive charm. Their harmony of detail is such as to sug- 
gest artificiality. They appear like miniature models of na- 
ture's first conception of a perfect lake. The beauty of First 
Pond inspired Louise Morgan Sill to write a poem about it. 

About a quarter of a mile from First Pond, Theophilus An- 
thony built a summer house in the woods. Old guides can still 
point out the traces of the road he used, the outlines of his 
clearing, and the site of his long-vanished house. He would 
seem to be the first New Yorker to own a pleasure-camp in the 
Adirondacks and to pass his vacations there. As the pioneer 
of uncommissioned lingerers in these woods, it is regrettable 

1 See Chap. IX, "Totten and Crossfield Purchase." 



64 A HISTOEY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

that he kept no diary and left no records of his summer out- 
ings. It would be so interesting to know how he reached his 
secluded lodge and how he whiled away his leisure there; but 
all details are denied us. About all we know of the gentleman 
is that he was born in New York city in 1735, and died there 
in 1814; that he owned a farm on what is now Murray Hill, 
and that he was a member of the famous Committee of 
Safety.^ He was evidently a man of standing, of means, and 
of leisure ; otherwise he never could have visited his summer 
home. 

The record of the first settlement on the shores of Long 
Lake is contained in a little book, now exceedingly rare, writ- 
ten by Dr. John Todd,^ a well-known preacher and author of 
his day. John Todd was born in Rutland, Vt., on October 9, 
1800.' His parents were poor, and his boyhood knew the 
hardships of poverty. He was ambitious and industrious, 
however, and managed to prepare himself for college. He 
was graduated from Yale in 1822. He taught during the fol- 
lowing year, then entered the Andover Theological Seminary, 
and in 1827 was ordained minister of the Congregational 
Church in Groton, Mass. From there he was called to North- 
ampton in 1833, to Philadelphia in 1836, and finally to Pitts- 
field in 1842. Here he remained until his death. He retired 
from the pulpit in 1872, and died in 1873. 

Besides being an effective preacher, he was a voluminous 
and popular writer, leaving some thirty volumes to his credit, 
several of which were translated into many foreign tongues. 
What at the time was probably considered the least of these, 
has become historically the most valuable to-day. His "Long 
Lake" is a blend of Adirondack enthusiasm and pastoral sen- 
timentality of the lachrymose type. The good doctor weeps 
often and easily, and his mountain flock weeps with him ; but 

1 His brother wan Capt Xicliolaa N. Anthony, who commandrd a company of 
New York Militia durinj^ tlic Revolution, and who, being a blacksmith by trade, 
forged the enormoiis iron chain that was swung across the Hudson to prevent 
British ships from going up the river. 

2 Long Lake E. P. Little. Pittsfield, Mass. 1845. 

3 Life and Letters of John Todd, by Dr. John E. Todd [his son]. Harper & 
Bros. 187G 



LONG LAKE 65 

between tears he gives a glimpse of undiscovered country that 
has much value for these pages. 

He was among the earliest men of note to go to the Adiron- 
dacks for the pleasures of hunting and fishing and the outdoor 
life. He made his first visit in September, 1841, in company 
with Professor Emmons the geologist. In the course of their 
wanderings they came to Long Lake, where "scattered along 
towards the head of the lake, we found a little community of 
eight or nine families." The head of the lake is the south- 
western end. The community consisted of widely scattered 
houses, built on both shores, and extending half-way up the 
lake. 

These people were found to be literally in a God-forsaken 
condition. The doctor's pastoral instincts were naturally 
aroused, and he offered to furnish some religious instruction 
and moral uplift, and the suggestion met with favor. A 
church service was arranged for and the visiting pastor 
inaugurated "the first Sabbath that ever broke upon the 
lake. No hounds were sent to chase the deer. No fish were 
caught. The loons screamed unmolested." Some of the 
more enthusiastic younger sisters rowed around the lake — 
"some twelve or fourteen miles" — and picked up outlying 
members of the congregation. They met in a little log house 
covered with hemlock bark.^ Men, women, children, and 
dogs were all there. They couldn't sing, "for none had 
learned the songs of Zion in a strange land." But the doctor 
preached the first sermon that they or the wilderness had ever 
heard. After it both he and his hearers wept. A few days 
later he took his departure and "shed fresh tears at parting," 
for he never expected to see "these few sheep in the wilder- 
ness again." 

He came back, however, in August, 1842, and found condi- 
tions slightly improved. "In all things," he writes, "there 
was evident and striking improvement. Some new families 
had come in, and among them some professed Christians." 
The result was that a Temperance Society had been formed, 

iTliis was a scliooMiousc that stood on the west slioro of tlie laki», on Lot 71, 
Township 21, diagonally across from Long Lake village 



66 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

and a Sunday School started. The doctor preached to them 
again, and then decided on a bold step. He found eleven will- 
ing souls — five men and six women — and he organized them 
into a church of God, by the name of "The First Congrega- 
tionalist Church on Long Lake," which was also the first or- 
ganized church in the Adirondacks. On this occasion he 
baptized eight children. 

After this he left them again, but returned for a third \dsit 
in the summer of 1843. This time he brought with him some 
books and money he had collected for the little church 
"planted in the wilderness." He also agitated the erection 
of a church building, and secured the gift of an acre of land 
for the purpose. It was cleared and in good condition, "on a 
point which projects into the lake." This is all that is said 
about the site, and it does not appear that it was ever built on. 

After returning home from this visit, Dr. Todd found that 
the children of his Sunday School had collected another purse 
for the Long Lakers — sufficient to support a missionary for 
six weeks. A young man named Parker was found and sent 
in to the settlement, where he eventually stayed for more than 
a year, subsisting, after the first six weeks, on the meager 
support the natives gave him. Although he returned once or 
twice in later years. Dr. Todd paid what might be called his 
last pastoral visit to the settlement in 1844. Again he found 
that new families had moved in, "so that the colony now con- 
sists of eighteen families and about one hundred souls. "^ 

1 Throuah the kindness of Mr. Henry D. Kellogg of Long Lake, who made a 
searcli of the old Town records for me, I am able to give the probable names of the 
above faniilios: 

The S or 9 families which Dr. Todd Those who came later, making the 18 
found on his first visit 1841: families of 1844: 



Joel Plumley, Matthew Beach, 

David Keller, William Wood, 

James 1 _ . David Smith, 

Robert I ^^'S'^'^^' Amos Hough, 

William Kellogg, Samuel Renne, 

Zenas Parker, Peter Van Valkenburg, 

Williiim Austin, John Clark, 

Isaac B. C. Robinson, James McCauley, 

Lyman Mix, John Dornbnrgh, 

Burton Burlingame. Daniel B. Catlin. 



LONG LAKE 67 

After this the outside interest he had aroused in the colony 
flagged, and his own abated considerably upon learning that 
the missionary he had sent up there, and who had consented 
to stay on without salary, had been starved out by his unap- 
preciative flock. 

There is no doubt that Dr. Todd's presence and pastoral 
enthusiasm roused these people to a momentary wave of re- 
ligious fervor. But how quickly it passed, and how little fruit 
it bore, is attested by some interesting letters on the subject 
written by another clergyman, J. T. Headley.^ He made a 
visit to Long Lake in 1846, and writes of it as follows : 

Now here is a colony, called the Long Lake Colony, about which 
much has been said, much sympathy excited, and on Avhieh more or 
less money has been expended. And what is its condition? It has 
been established for man}- years, and by this time it ought to furnish 
some inducements to the farmer who would locate here, nearly fifty 
miles from a post-office or store, and half that distance from a good 
mill. But what is the truth respecting it? Not a man here supports 
himself from his farm; and I can see no gain since I was here two 
years ago. The church which was organized some time since was 
never worthy of the name of one : the few men who composed it, with 
some few exceptions, being anything but religious men. I was told 
by one of the chief men here that one man now constituted the entire 
"Congregational Church of Long Lake." There are no meetings held 
on the Sabbath, not even a Sabbath school. The truth is, the people 
here, as a general thing, would not give a farthing for any religious 
privileges, indeed would rather be without them; and instead of this 
colony being a center from which shall radiate an immense popula- 
tion, covering the whole of this wild region, it will drag on a miserable 
existence, composed, two-thirds of it, by those who had rather hunt 
than work. I do not mean to disparage this central region of New 
York ; but I would divest it of the romance of dreamers, and the false- 
hood of land speculators. 

From a letter written a year later, in 1847, I quote the 
f olloAving : 

Paddling leisurely up Long Lake, I was struck by the desolate ap- 
pearance of the settlement. Scarcely an improvement had been made 
since I was last here, while some clearings had been left to go back to 

1 Letters from the Bnclwoods. John S. Taylor, New York. 1850. 



68 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

their original wildness. Disappointed purchasers, lured by extrava- 
gant statements, had given up in despondency, and left. 

This paragraph and the last line of the preceding one obvi- 
ously refer to some one else than Dr. Todd. But before 
leaving this gentleman and his book, we must revert to the one 
important historical fact which it gives us — that some eight- 
een families were living on the shores of Long Lake as early 
as 1844. At this date no other lake could boast of more than 
an occasional hermit or hunter. 

The settlement which Dr. Todd discovered represented, of 
course, a gradual growth of several years, and there are for- 
tunately some records to show when it began. In Colonel 
Fox's "History of the Lumber Industry in the State of New 
York,"^ there is a lengthy table giving the date of the first 
settlement and of the first sawmill — for the two went almost 
hand in hand — in every Towni in the State. And here w^e find 
that the first settlement on Long Lake was made as early as 
1830 - — a date amply confirmed by local tradition. The pio- 
neer was Joel Plumbley, the father of ''honest John," and of 
the first white child to be born in the region — Jeremiah 
Plumbley. 

The sawmill was a much later development in this instance, 
however. It did not come till 1836, when E. H. St. John, the 
second settler, built a sawmill on South Pond Stream, near 
where it empties into the lake. He did not build it for him- 
self, however, but for a man named Hammond, who was a 
large owner of land around Long Lake. He paid St. John 
partly in money, and partly in a deed for 800 acres. This 
became the "St. John Clearing" at the head of the lake, still 
kno^vn as such to-day. Besides building a mill, St. John's 
contract called for the cutting out of the first road between 
Newcomb and Long Lake. The mill does not appear to have 
amounted to much, for Dr. Todd, speaking of the post-office 
being half a hundred miles oflF, says "and the nearest mill 
that deserves the name of a mill, is not much nearer." Ilead- 

1 See ffixth Annual Report (1000) of the Forest. Fish and Game Commission, 
p. 237. 

2 Ibid., p. 293. 



LONG LAKE G9 

ley, in the letter I haA^e quoted, also refers to the remoteness 
of a mill. 

Thus did the settlement start, but its comparatively rapid 
growth is not so explicitly recorded. There seemed to be a 
clue to it, however, in Headley's allusion to '*the falsehoods of 
land speculators," which had lured people to the spot by ''ex- 
travagant statements." Acting on this clue, I was fortunate 
enough to discover the following pamphlet, of which I give 
the title-page in full : 

An 

Attempt to Present 

Tlie 

CLAIMS OF LONG I^KE 

to tbe 

Consideration of all those 

who are 

In search after good land at a 

Low Price. 

BY AMOS DEAN 

One of tlie proprietors. 

Albany: 

Printed by Joel Munsell. 

1840 

Following this the author addresses a preface **To the Re- 
ceiver of this Pamphlet," of whom certain specific services are 
asked : 

1st. That you will take an early occasion to post or fasten up in 
as conspicuous a place as possible, in places of the most public resort, 
such as the counting rooms of stores, and the bar rooms of public 
houses, the notices which accompany this pamphlet. 

2nd. That you will allow yourself to be referred to on the subjects 
embraced in this pamphlet ; and that you will allow the community in 
the midst of which you live to understand that you are so referred to. 

3rd. That if application is made to you for more particular infor- 
mation, as specified in the accompanying: notice, you will refer the 
applicant to this pamphlet; direct his attention, etc., etc. 

After making these requests, the author explains why he 
does so, by saying that *'we all owe one another something.''^ 
There follows a disquisition on the theory of human interde- 



70 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

pendence and the moral obligation of mutual aid, closing with 
this Pecksniflfian peroration : 

If for these or any other reasons, you think proper to render me 
these services, I shall feel under great obligations to yon ; if not, it 
is in the highest degree probable that a benevolent neighbor of yours 
in an adjoining town will render them, and thus deprive you of the 
honor of being referred to in this matter, a thing which no doubt you 
will very much regret. 

With very great respect, 

Truly Yours, 

Amos Dean. 

In the body of the pamphlet Mr. Dean says that he has 
become, *' jointly with another, the proprietor of almost 12,000 
acres of land lying principally around the head of Long 
Lake." He then admits that these lands are for sale, and at 
a very low price — from one to three dollars an acre, according 
to location. He further admits — for he is winsomely frank 
about it all — that while this is the price rwiv, he cannot say 
how long it will be. But he fears the period will be brief, 
surprisingly brief. Such opportunities always are. They 
knock but once, and those who fail to answer the summons 
drag out the rest of their lives in poignant regret. 

It is, indeed, difficult to understand how any could be deaf 
to the clarion call of the Dean pamphlet. It offers lands that 
are remarkably fertile, comparing favorably with best farm- 
ing sections of the State. It calls attention to the vast ore 
beds near by, and suggests that they ?naij be discovered on any 
of the salable lots. The pamphlet admits that Long Lake at 
the moment appears somewhat detached, not to say, isolated. 
This is to be speedily changed, however. The Carthage Road, 
now six miles away, is to be turnpiked to the shores of the 
lake and to skirt its borders. Then a railroad, traversing the 
mountains, is to pass that way. And last, not least, the proj- 
ect of a continuous water communication between the St. 
Lawrence and Lake Champlain, is to make Long Lake a high- 
way of boat traffic and the settlement on its shores a little 
Detroit in the wilderness. 

These schemes were in the air at the time,^ it must be ad- 

1 See Chap. XL, "Railroads." 



LONG LAKE 71 

mitted, but Mr. Dean gives them a prospective probability 
that smacks of certainty. He reinforces many of his state- 
ments by lengthy quotations from the official reports of Pro- 
fessor Emmons, of 0. L. Holley, Surveyor-General of the 
State, and of George E. Hotfman, chief engineer of the 
water communication project. Nor is Dr. Todd overlooked. 
Copious extracts are given from the most visionary pages of 
his little book. The result is that we have a pamphlet based 
on some undeniable facts, but strongly qualified by the desire 
to sell land. 

Mr. Dean contributes little of specific historic value, except- 
ing w^hon he speaks of the lots already sold and under contract, 
giving their numbers, namely: 72, 60, 48, 71, 59, 82, 70, 81, 
79, 78, 89, 88, and 99.^ The last one belonged to one Sargeant, 
who had, we are told, fifty acres under cultivation. Lot 82 
contains Long Lake village to-day. 

The Dean pamphlet was not published till 1846. It cannot, 
therefore, have been an influence in the size of the colony 
which Dr. Todd found in 1844, but it does help to explain it. 
Mr. Dean speaks of having become interested "with another." 
The other was undoubtedly the Mr. Hammond who was the 
original owner of the land and sold St. John his clearing. 
The further inference is that Mr. Hammond had done some 
effective advertising on his own account before the mellifluous 
pen of ^Ir. Dean sought to bring the Long Lake property "to 
the attentive consideration of the young men of New England, 
who are anxiously looking for a home, in the enjoyment of 
which they hope to spend long, happy, and useful lives." 

As the first settlers came largely from New England, it is 
evident that Mr. Dean hoped for recruits from the same quar- 
ter. There is no evidence that he secured them, however. 
Indeed, according to Headley's letter of 1847, the drift of 
emigration at that time seemed to be very decidedly away 
from the settlement. 

The two graves of the first persons to be buried at Long 
Lake are still in evidence. The first death to occur was that 

iTliese numbers belong to the Richards Snrvey of ToAvnship 21, made about 
1830. The lots, of 200 acres each, arc shown on a map that accompanied the 
pamphlet. They can be found to-day on the large colored map issued by the 
Conservation Commission. 



72 A HISTORY OF THE ADIKONDACKS 

of a sixteen-year-old daughter of one of the Sargeants. This 
was in 1841, for Dr. Todd on his first visit speaks of being 
taken to the new-made grave of this ''solitary sleeper." An- 
other was soon dug beside it. The brother of one of the set- 
tlers, who had come for a visit, went hunting alone, became 
lost in the woods, and died of starvation. His body, when 
found, was placed beside the other. 

Long Lake had two hermits — that is if two hermits can live 
on the same lake without forfeiting their integrity of title. 
Does the conjunction of two hermits on one spot precipitate a 
community, or does it merely augment a condition? And at 
what point in the density of neighbors doe^ the evaporation of 
hermits begin? Both these questions bear on the exact status 
of the gentlemen in question, for they dwelt on Long Lake at 
the same time and came to it long after the first settlement 
was started there. They made their homes, however, at the 
uninhabited north end of the lake, and chose opposite sides 
of it. They were two decidedly mysterious beings, known as 
Bowen and Harney. 

Bowen is said to have come from Elizabethtown about 1850. 
He built a rough cabin on the pine ridge at the west side of 
the outlet of the lake. The Old ^lilitary Koad passed near his 
house, and could be easily traced in his day. He often fol- 
lowed it, and spoke of seeing the abandoned English cannon 
that laj'' near it.* He lived entirely alone and in seclusion, 
but was not averse to meeting and talking with people who 
came his way. He was not only a man of education but a gen- 
tleman of culture and refinement. The few who crossed his 
threshold found themselves in the very humble home of a very 
polished host, and, besides this striking contrast, they found 
the walls of his primitive shack lined with a collection of fine 
books. 

The possessor of this library, however, earned his living in 
the wilderness by making charcoal, at which he was considered 
an expert. He would pile up wood in the shape of a pyramid, 
cover it with earth, and then let it burn very slowly for several 
days. This was the only kind of labor he w^as ever known to 
do, and even this he w^ould do only occasionally. 

iSce Chap. XXXIX, "Old Military Roads." 



LONG LAKE 73 

During his stay on Long Lake a Mr. Robert Shaw — some- 
times called ''the Eev." — was one of the leaders there, both 
in civic and religious affairs. He was blacksmith, lawyer, 
shoemaker, and merchant on week-days, and a preacher on 
Sundays. At any time, however, he was ready to expound the 
Word, and to debate it. He occasionally dropped in on the 
hermit Bowen and discussed with him the future of the soul. 
It soon developed that the recluse had no very strong convic- 
tions on the subject. He was what the world calls an agnos- 
tic — what Mr. Shaw called a lost sheep. There followed an 
effort to bring the wanderer back into the fold, but it did not 
succeed. The straggler preferred to straggle, and presum- 
ably was quite able to defend the preference. At all events, 
Mr. Shaw finally gave up his rescue work, but told Bowen that 
when the hand of death was upon him, he would change his 
mind and be eager for the consolations of religion. Bowen 
merely smiled upon the prophet, as he bowed him to the door 
with his usual suavity of manner. 

Time passed. At last the Dark Stranger lingered at the 
lonely hut and marked his man. Lying on his death-bed, 
Bowen sent for Shaw — solely, as the event proved, to have the 
satisfaction of telling him that, although he knew he was about 
to die, he had neither changed his mind nor lost his skepticism. 
A few days later he passed away, in the year 1888, at the ripe 
age of ninety. The mystery that led to his forty years of 
isolation in the wilderness was never revealed, so far as I can 
discover, although Mr. Lossing hints at knowing it. 

In making the preparatory trip for his book "The Hudson," 
Mr. Lossing passed through Long Lake. Speaking of the 
spot where they camped for the night, he says: *'No human 
habitation was near, excepting the bark cabin of Bowen, the 
'Hermit of Long Lake,' whose history we have not space to 
record." ^ 

Harney, the other "Hermit of Long Lake," also belonged 
to the gentleman class of solitude-seekers. He appeared on 

1 Lossing's The Hudson, p. 12. The place where the Lossings camped for the 
night was Buck Mountain Point, formerly owned by Dr. Duryea, and now by 
Mr. Henry S. Harper. Mrs. Lossing was probably the first lady to camp on the 
shores of Long Lake, as she was one of the first to ascend Tahawus. See Chap. 
XXXIII, "Old Mountain Phelps." 



74 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

the scene much later, however, not till some time in the sixties. 
He was refined in manner and dignified in bearing, but he had 
neither the education nor the bookish tastes of Bowen. He 
was, on the other hand, the more lovable character of the two, 
and was particularly fond of children, who felt instinctively 
attracted to him. One of them, now grown up, has told me 
of the fascination his wonderful blue eyes had for her, and 
how they could flash with fire, although as a rule they were 
twinkling with laughter. He was genial and friendly when 
he mixed with people, and was at no pains to avoid such eon- 
tacts. Indeed, he had little more than a quit-claim to being a 
hermit. In the winter he was forced to be one, but he changed 
his status, though not his name, with the seasons. 

He lived in a miserable shanty — still standing in 1920 — at 
the northeast end of the lake, on land now belonging to Mr. 
Henry S. Harper. Here Harney carried on farming-opera- 
tions, sometimes on a vast scale, for once or twice his fires 
burnt over a mountain or two, when he only intended to clear 
a potato patch. Ordinarily, however, he confined himself to 
raising and selling hay, and keeping cow^s. He had good stock 
and kept them in fine condition. He sold milk to the early 
campers, Senator Piatt, Dr. Duryea, Mr. Terry, and others. 

He lived on the lake long enough to become a very old man — 
and also a very dirty one. During the earlier years he was 
rather careful about his personal appearance, and won the 
reputation of being something of a dude in his dress by ap- 
pearing occasionally in a "boiled shirt." Gradually, how- 
ever, he became unpleasantly careless of his person and most 
unkempt in his appearance. 

In the autumn of 1898 he was taken seriously ill and feared 
he was going to die. In this expectation he asked a friendly 
neighbor to write a letter for him to the priest of a Canadian 
parish where he had formerly lived; the letter inquired if any 
of Harney's family were still living, and then came the most 
interesting part of the incident. The amanuensis was in- 
structed, under the seal of confidence, to sign the letter by 
Harney's real name, which was Larmie Fournier. 

No answer came to the letter. In the meantime the sick 
man recovered and was able to be up and around again. 



LONG LAKE 75 

About two years later — as a result of the letter, presumably — 
a son appeared upon the scene and took his aged and myste- 
rious father away with him. This was the last ever seen or 
heard of Harney the Hermit. 

Not far from his cabin, and on the same lot (No. 20, Town- 
ship 50), lies Hendrick Spring, a remote source of the Hudson 
Eiver. The name suggests that it was probably considered a 
very important one at the time of its discovery. It lies about 
a quarter of a mile from the shore of Long Lake, and its 
waters flow into Round Pond — to which Mr. Lossing gave the 
far prettier name of Fountain Lake — and then through Catlin 
Lake into the upper Hudson. 

In 1846 Professor G. W. Benedict, of the Geological Survey, 
made elaborate plans for connecting these lakes with Long 
Lake, in order to give direct communication with the upper 
Hudson and increase its water-power. A dam was built at the 
outlet of Fountain Lake, and Mr. Lossing speaks of seeing its 
ruins. This raised the water as far back as Hendrick Spring, 
and from there a canal was dug to connect with Long Lake. 
The old ditch can still be traced by those who care to delve 
in tangled shrubbery and slash. To make the whole scheme 
effective, however, it w^ould have been necessary to build an- 
other dam at the outlet of Long Lake. But this proposal 
aroused strenuous opposition from the powerful lumber inter- 
ests on the lower Raquette. They were able to prevent the 
building of the dam, w^hich, of course, brought about the col- 
lapse of the entire project. 

On the east shore of Long Lake, about three miles from the 
inlet, is the village of Long Lake, the only one in the very 
large Tovm. of the same name. The Town is, indeed, the larg- 
est in the Adirondacks.^ It was erected in 1837 and contains 
440 square miles. Early gazetteers speak of it as "the most 
secluded town in the State." It has always remained so. As 
late as 1860 it held no post-office. In 1895 the total popula- 
tion was only 324.^ 

1 TIio Town of Wilmiiit was larger, but it exists no more. 

2 An old resident informs me that it was the only Town in the State that did 
not ea'--t a single Democratic vote in the Grant-Greeley election, and my informant 
adds: "But that was before the Tovm was demoralized by city voters." 



76 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

From the above it may be inferred that the village of Long 
Lake is neither large nor populous. It has, however, one pre- 
eminent distinction. Its name is a true index to its location. 
It actually lies near the shore of the lake whose name it bears. 
But it has not always borne this name. In the early days it 
was called ' ' Gougeville. ' ' This indignity is said to have been 
put upon it by an itinerant peddler who once traded within its 
purlieus. The inference is that his dealings there caused him 
annoyance, and that he voiced a grouch of which reiteration 
made a name. He also dealt with the settlement on the oppo- 
site shore of the lake, and here again he left the perfume of 
anathema. He dubbed it "Kickerville," and the road to Mr. 
Thomas S. Walker's place is still called the "Kickerville 
Road." 

On a hill in the village stands the Wesleyan Methodist 
Church, erected in 1865, largely through funds collected by 
Mitchell Sabattis.^ This was the first church building in the 
community, for the one projected by Dr. Todd never mate- 
rialized. That he took an interest in this one, however, is 
attested by a large clock over the pulpit, which bears the 
legend of having been presented to the church by '*Dr. Todd's 
Mission School." It was here that the two local preachers 
Robert Shaw and Mitchell Sabattis used to hold forth. There 
is also a Roman Catholic church, St. Henry's, and a Methodist 
Episcopal church in this small village. 

About a mile below it there is a curious bit of cobblestone 
beach, so smooth and even as to give the effect of having been 
artificially laid. Stone beaches of any kind are rare in the 
Adirondacks, and this one is unique. Long Lake is also no- 
table for its many and extensive sand beaches. There is one 
at Buck Mountain Point that is a mile and a half long. The 
prominence of its beaches is due to the interesting fact that 
the lake is not and never has been dammed. The result is that 
the beaches remain intact, whereas in most of the other large 
lakes they have been artificially submerged. 

Another result is that the water in the lake constantly fluc- 
tuates and, during the spring freshets, often rises as much as 

1 See the following chapter. 



LONG LAKE 77 

fourteen feet. About a mile below the outlet of Long Lake 
the waters of Cold River, rising at the Preston Ponds, join 
those of the Raquette. The latter river is shallow and full of 
sand-bars along this stretch, and Cold River, when swollen by 
melting snows and rain, forces its waters back into the lake 
and actually flows into it sometimes for two or three days. 
As a consequence the lake ceases to have an outlet, while two 
swollen streams pouring into it, one from each end, cause its 
waters to rise to the extraordinary height of fourteen feet. 
This spring flood is so certain and likely to prove so disastrous 
that the boat-houses on the shore have to be built far above 
the apparent water-level, and are neither lovely nor logical 
in appearance. On the other hand, the shores of the lake re- 
ceive an annual flushing that keeps them noticeably clean. 

The development of the lake as a summer resort offers noth- 
ing notable. Camps and hotels have gradually risen on its 
shores, but they have come slowly, and the lake, for its size, 
is very sparsely settled. It has realized neither the dreams 
of Dr. Todd nor the hopes of Amos Dean. The reason is not 
far to seek, perhaps. Long Lake still lies twenty miles from 
the nearest railway, and far from the beaten track of the im- 
proved highways.^ This lack of easy access, and the resultant 
isolation, is considered an added charm by many of its camp- 
ers, however, as they thereby escape many aflflictions of ap- 
proachability. 

The first summer campers on the lake were ver>^ distin- 
guished men. The Rev. Dr. Joseph T. Duryea of Brooklyn, 
built on Buck Mountain Point in 1874. He spent most of his 
summers there until his death in 1898. He was eminent as a 
scholar, a worker, and a speaker. 

During the Civil War he had charge of the Eastern Division 
of the United States Christian Commission which was organ- 
ized to alleviate sutforing among the wounded soldiers. The 

iln November, 1918. the people approved an amendment to Sec. 7, Art. VII 
of the Constitution, permitting the building, across State lands where necessary, 
of a State highway from Saranac Lake to Long Lake, and then to Old Forge by 
way of Blue Mountain and Raquette lakes. This will put Long Lake on a thor- 
oughfare connecting the present excellent highways on the east^nd west side of 
the mountains, and make it much more accessible. 



78 A HISTOKY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

doctor ^s splendid work in this field brought him into contact 
with President Lincoln, and an intimate friendship resulted. 
On one occasion the President asked Dr. Duryea to make a 
speech before Congress, and his inspired eloquence was such 
that he held not only his audience but the official reporters 
spellbound. Forty of them sat in a row before him, and all 
of them became so fascinated by the speaker that they forgot 
to record what was spoken. Only one, who had come late and 
was obliged to sit behind the doctor, carried away the Gomplete 
record of his speech. 

Princeton University owes the fact that it is in existence 
to-day to Dr. Duryea. Before the Civil War its support came 
mainly from the South, and when this source of revenue was 
cut off, the college authorities saw no alternative to closing 
their doors for lack of funds. Dr. Duryea, who was a Prince- 
ton graduate, heard of the distress of his alma mater and 
pledged himself to find relief. Within a week he had raised 
among his many wealthy friends more than was needed to 
keep the institution going. In return for this great service 
he was offered the presidency, but declined on the ground that 
he felt his duty to lie with the church and the people. To both 
he gave so unstinted a service that his health soon became 
impaired, and only his frequent recuperations in his woodland 
home prolonged his life. His daughter Mary married Mr. 
Isaac Robinson of Long Lake, and still lives there. To her I 
am indebted for some memories of her youth which have been 
embodied in this chapter. 

At the time Dr. Duryea first built on the laKe Senator Or- 
ville H. Piatt of Connecticut had a hunting-lodge on the oppo- 
site shore. This was gradually transformed into an artistic 
camp and is now owned by Mr. Harper Silliman. Senator 
Piatt was an eminent lawyer and statesman whose reputation 
as an able thinker and constructive fighter extended far be- 
yond the confines of his own State. He bore a conspicuous 
part in the long struggle for the International Copyright Law, 
and was often called the father of that measure. Many peo- 
ple, on having ''Senator Piatt's camp" pointed out to them, 
have not unnaturally assumed that it belonged to the New 
York senator Thomas C. Piatt, the political boss, whose name 



LONG LAKE 79 

was more familiar in this State. This error has even ap- 
peared in print. ^ 

There were two other early camps, one built by Dr. Savage 
of Albany, on an island near Buck Point, and the other by 
Mr. George E. Terry of Waterbury, Conn., farther up the 
lake. 

A number of small hotels sprang up, of course, and finally 
a very large, ungainly, and conspicuous one was built on a 
point about a mile above the village. The first structure on 
this site was a primitive ai^air erected in 1885, and called 
''The Sagamore." This was burned in 1889, but was imme- 
diately replaced by the New Sagamore, at that time one of 
the largest and most modern hotels in the woods. 

Nothing of greater historical interest attaches to Long Lake 
than the fact that the Adirondack guide-boat was evolved 
there. Its progenitors were Mitchell Sabattis and one of the 
Palmers who saw the need of devising something sturdier and 
swifter than the canoe. Their joint product must have been 
put in use as early as 1842, for that was the date of Dr. Todd's 
second visit, in recounting which he says: ''We procured a 
little boat, such a one as a man can carry on his head through 
the woods, from river to river, and from lake to lake." He 
also speaks of the people coming to church in their "little 
boats," wliich would indicate that the new model was then in 
general use. 

It differed in one important respect, however, from the 
guide-boat of to-day. It had a square stern, but the disad- 
vantages of this feature became apparent and soon disap- 
peared. This modification, and many a, less conspicuous re- 
finement, was tooled into the craft by the patient, cunning 
hands of Caleb Chase of Newoomb. 

Chase was taken into the woods when he was only twelve 
years old, in 1842, and he stayed there for the rest of his life. 
He became an intimate friend and an adept pupil in woodcraft 
of Mitchell Sabattis. Out of this intimacy grew the sugges- 

1 In the report of the Special Committee appointed in 1808 to investigate the 
purchase of forest lands — Assembly Document No. 43, p. 77 — occurs the following 
in connection with a description of Lono: Lake: ''Along- its banks are built 
many private camps which are very attractive. Amono; those specially noted by 
the Republicans of our committee was that of Senator Thomas C. Piatt." 



80 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

tion that there might be a living in making- the new kind of 
boat for which the demand was constantly growing. Chase 
built himself a modest little workshop at Newcomb in 1850, 
and for the next forty years he turned out a product that was 
considered the best of its kind. A Chase boat in the woods 
ranked with a Brewster buggy in the city. Only one impor- 
tant improvement was made in them which he did not origi- 
nate, and that was the decrease in weight which wa-s success- 
fully inaugurated by ''Willie Allen's egg-shells." ^ 

1 See Chap. XXIV, under "William A. Martin." 




s 



St 

O tf. 



CHAPTER XXXV 

MITCHELL SABATTIS 

LONG LAKE was formerly noted for the number and 
quality of its guides, due largely, no doubt, to the early 
settlement there. The following names were familiar to all 
the early sportsmen in that section: John E. and Jerry 
Plumbley, Amos Hough, Henry Stanton, Isaac, John, and 
Amos Robinson, Alonzo Wood, Reuben Gary, and Mitchell 
Sabattis and his sons. 

Mitchell Sabattis had a remarkable ancestry and a notable 
career. His father was Captain Peter Sabattis, who is said to 
have been born in 1750. According to this he attained the re- 
markable age of one hundred and eleven years, for he died at 
Long Lake in 1861. He kept the record of his later years on a 
notched stick which he always carried with him. The date of 
his birth may not have been quite so early as he placed it, but 
he certainly lived to be a very old man, and was noted for his 
clear and accurate memory. He was a pure-blooded Indian of 
the Huron tribe, and his Indian name was Pierjoun. He 
was a stanch friend of the white men, however, and fought 
with them in the Revolution and the War of 1812. He became 
widely known for his truthfulness and reliability, as well as 
for his remarkable abilities as a hunter and trapper. He had 
his eccentricities, however, and one of them w^as the boast that, 
in an unusually long life, he had never slept in a white man's 
bed. He would accept all other hospitality, but when night 
came he persistently stuck to his whim. In mild weather he 
would sleep out of doors ; in cold, he would lie down in front 
of the kitchen stove, with a log of wood for a pillow. 

We get an all too fleeting but interesting glimpse of ''Cap- 
tain Peter" in J. T. Headley's ''Letters from the Back- 
woods," published in 1850. Headley spent the summers of 
1846 and 1847 in the Adirondacks, and on both occasions 
Mitchell Sabattis was one of his guides. Returning to camp 

81 



82 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

one night, they found his aged father and young sister await- 
ing his arrival. ''Old Peter," writes Headley, "as he is 
called, had come, with liis daughter, a hundred and fifty miles 
in a bark canoe, to visit him. The old man, now over eighty 
years of age, shook with palsy, and was constantly muttering 
to himself in a language half French, half Indian, while his 
daughter, scarce twenty years old, was silent as a statue. 
This old man still roams the forest, and stays where night 
overtakes him." Headley goes on to describe his decrepit 
and failing condition, and to marvel at the force of habit that 
impelled him to wander about the woods when more than one 
roof would gladly have given him shelter and comfort. If he 
was born in 1750, he must have been ninety-six years old when 
Headley saw him. This would better account for the Cap- 
tain's palsied condition, for other writers say he was vigorous 
at ninety. 

Captain Peter's w^fe died early in the last century, and was 
buried on an island at the lower end of Long Lake. The site 
of her grave was knowm to her son Mitchell, who pointed it 
out to others. She had four children by the Captain, three 
sons and one daughter. 

The eldest one Solomon went through college and turned 
out a rascal. This dampened the father's enthusiasm for edu- 
cation, and the other children w^ere not hampered by it. The 
second child was a daughter Hannah. She grew up to be a 
beautiful girl, but modified none of her Indian traits. She 
was shy and silent before strangers, but wild and fearless in 
the woods. She became the inseparable companion of her 
aged father, and roamed and lived with him in the woods until 
he died. It was Hannah whom Headley saw. The third child 
was Mitchell. A fourth, named Charles, was a cripple and 
died before reaching manhood. 

It is impossible to say just w^hen Mitchell Sabattis was 
born. There is no record of the date, and his family do not 
know it. It is highly doubtful if he knew it himself. Even 
his most intimate friend the Rev. Robert Shaw, pastor emeri- 
tus of the Methodist Church at Long Lake, did not know it. 
In his funeral oration at the grave of his long-time chum, he 
spoke of him as being ''some eighty-odd years old." The 



MITCHELL SABATTIS 83 

obituaries and guide-books give various dates, some of them 
being twenty years apart. 

I am inclined to place the date around 1801. Professor 
Chittenden (in his ''Reminiscences") speaks of Mitchell Sa- 
battis being eighty-four years old when he last saw him in 
1885. The place of his birth is unanimously agreed upon as 
Parishville, St. Lawrence County. He died at Long Lake, 
April 16, 1906. In 1886 he had a stroke which left him some- 
what crippled, but he continued to do light guiding for several 
years. 

He was a pure-blooded Indian of the Abenaki tribe (Algic. 
family), and, at the time of his death, was the oldest, if not 
the only, descendant of his race living in the Adirondacks. 
He was intelligently versed in the Abenaki language and the 
Indian nomenclature of the region, much of which originated 
mth him and his congeners. He was sought by the foremost 
students of Indian names, and his opinions are quoted as au- 
thoritative. In 1900 he was visited by Professor J. Dyneley 
Prince of Columbia, whose resultant paper is mentioned in 
Chapter VII, ''Adirondack Names." 

Sabattis was a small man and of slight stature; gentle, un- 
assuming, and reticent in manner, but having the strength and 
endurance of tempered steel in action. His knowledge of 
woodcraft amounted to animal instinct. In the woods he 
saw and heard and reasoned with a refinement that was un- 
canny. The stories of the big game he killed, of his coolness 
and resourcefulness in danger and dilemma, would fill a 
volume. 

Soon after settling near Long Lake, he married Betsey 
Joinburgh, of Dutch descent. By her he had a large family. 
Two or three children died in infancy, but eight of them grew 
up to be a credit to their worthy parents. Soon after marry- 
ing, Sabattis came face to face with a crisis in his life. His 
one failing was a periodical addiction to drink. How he de- 
cided to battle against it will be told later. He won a com- 
plete victory, and naturally came out of the struggle a better 
and stronger man. From that moment, indeed, he became 
noted, not only for his skill in woodcraft, but for a genuine 
religious fervor. 



84 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

He had evidently joined the church at an early date, for 
Dr. Todd speaks of ''my young friend Sabatas, a noble young 
Indian man, whose violin leads the music in public worship." 
After his conversion from drink he became the very pillar and 
prop of Long Lake's religious activities. In 1865 the Wes- 
leyan Methodists decided to build a church, and Sabattis 
undertook to raise the funds for it. He had guided and be- 
come the friend of well-known ministers from Boston, Pitts- 
field, New York, and Philadelpliia. He went to these men 
now, and they allowed him to speak before their congregations 
and make a plea for the funds he wished to raise. He re- 
turned from this trip with $2,000 for the new church. After 
it was built he often preached in it, and so, though never or- 
dained, he was often spoken of as ''the Reverend Sabattis." 
But he was more than a preacher, he was a practiser, and won 
the sincere esteem and respect of all kinds and conditions of 
men. 

The two writers who have the most to say of him are J. T. 
Headley and L. E. Chittenden. The former has this to say 
on parting from him for the last time : 

I shook his honest hand with as much regret as I ever did that of a 
white man. I shall long remember him. He is a man of deeds and 
not of words — kind, gentle, delicate in his feelings, honest and true as 
steel. 

A more extended glimpse is given by L. E. Chittenden, in 
his "Personal Reminiscences," published by Richmond, Gros- 
cup & Co., New York, in 1893. These reminiscences extend 
from 1840 to 1890. In the late fifties the author visited the 
woods, and there is a chapter called "Adirondack Days," and 
another, "The Story of ]\Iitchell Sabattis." The first chap- 
ter closes with these words : 

In those deliirhtful five weeks I formed an attachment for these 
guides (Mitchell Sabattis and Alonzo Wctherby) which lasted as Ions: 
as they lived. From Wetherby, and later from others, I learned that 
Sabattis was a generous fellow whom every one liked, but he would 
get drunk upon every opportunity, and then he was a madman. His 
wife was a worthy white woman. They had five children. The sons 



MITCHELL SABATTIS 85 

were as skilled in woodcraft as their father, and inherited the excellent 
qualities of their mother. One of them grew up with the figure of 
Apollo, and when I last saw him I thought that physically he was 
the most perfect man I had ever seen. 

Then follows the interesting story of Mitchell's conversion 
and redemption from drink. 

Chittenden spent the last night of his outing at Mitchell's 
home in Newcomb. He saw that both husband and wife were 
greatly worried over something, and he induced them to tell 
him the reason. There was a mortgage upon their little house 
and farm. It was due and had been called. They could not 
pay it, and were to be sold out in a few weeks. 

The next morning, just before leaving, Professor Chitten- 
den said to Mitchell : 

''What would you give to one who would buy your mort- 
gage and give you time in which to pay it ? " 

''I would give my life," he exclaimed, "the day after I had 
paid the debt. I would give it now if I could leave this little 
place to Bessie and her children." 

Chittenden told him it would not cost so much — that he 
would buy the mortgage if ^fitchell would promise to give up 
drinking, and agree to meet him at "Bartlett's" the following 
August. 

He promised instantly, solemnly. He rose from his chair. I 
thought he looked every inch the chief which by birth he claimed to 
be, as he said: "You may think you cannot trust me, but you can. 
Sabattis when he w^as sober never told a lie. He will never lie to his 
friend!" For a few minutes there was in that humble room a very 
touching scene. The Indian silent, solemn, but for the speaking arm 
thrown lovingly around the neck of his wife, apparently motionless — 
the wife trying to say through her tears. 

"I told you, you could trust Mitchell! He will keep his promise — 
he will never get drunk again. I know him so well. I am certain he 
will not drink, and we shall be so happy. Oh! I am the happiest 
woman alive!" 

"Well! well!" I said, "let us hope for the best; we must wait and 
see. Mitchell, remember the second of next August— Bartlett 's— and 
in the meantime no whiskey ! ' ' And so we parted. 



86 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

On his way through Elizabethtown, Chittenden bought an 
assignment of the mortgage, carried it home, put it away, and 
virtually forgot about it. 

The following February, late one night, Sabattis turned up 
at Chittenden's home in Burlington. He came in a hand- 
made sled, drawn by two borrowed horses. The route had 
been by way of CroAvn Point, and the distance covered not less 
than one hundred and fifty miles. The sled was heavily 
loaded with various kinds of food, game, and valuable skins, 
which were offered as a present. The Indian also had part of 
the principal of his mortgage in his pocket. He reported the 
best hunting-season he had ever had, and that not a drop of 
whisky had passed his lips. lie was cordially received, of 
course, and after a pleasant visit of a few days, he started 
home again — a very happy man. 

On the second of August following, Chittenden landed at 
*'Bartlett's," and there were Mitchell and Alonzo waiting for 
him. As he says: 

There was no need to ask Mitchell if he had kept his promise. His 
eye was as clear and keen as that of a goshawk. The muscles visible 
in their action under his transparent dark skin, his voice, ringing 
■with cheerfulness, all told of a healthy body and a sound mind. His 
wife, he said, had her house filled with boarders, his oldest son had 
been employed as a guide for the entire season, and prosperity shone 
upon the Sabattis household. 

This was the summer of 1860, and Chittenden did not return 
to the woods again till 1885. Long before that, however, Sa- 
battis had paid off his mortgage in full. On this last trip 
Chittenden stopped at a hotel thirty miles from Long Lake. 
Here he heard the subsequent story of his old guide, which he 
relates as follows : 

He had never broken his promise to me. He united with the Meth- 
odist Church and became one of its leaders, and in a few years was 
the leading citizen in the Long Lake settlement. In worldly matters 
he prospered. His wife kept a favorite resort for summer visitors. 
Their children were educated, the daughters married well — two of the 
sons served their country with courage and gallantry through the war, 
returned home uuwounded, ^^^th honorable discharges, and now guided 



MITCHELL SABATTIS 87 

in summer and built Adirondack boats in the winter. Mitchell, now 
a hale and healthy veteran of eighty-four years, still lived at Long 
Lake in the very house of which I was once the mortgagee. 

The next morning I heard a light step on the uncarpeted hall and 
a knock at my door. I opened it and Sabattis entered. He was as 
glad to see me as I was to grasp his true and honest hand. But I was 
profoundly surprised. Had the world with him stood still ! He did 
not look a day older than when I last saw him, more than twenty-five 
years ago. The same keen, clear eye, transparent skin with the play 
of the muscles under it, the same elastic step, ringing voice and kindly 
heart. His eye was not dim nor his natural force abated. We spent 
a memorable day together — at nightfall we parted forever. Not long 
afterward he died full of years, full of honors, that noblest work of 
God, an honest man. 

Sabattis strongly resembled, both in manner and appear- 
ance, his contemporary John Cheney. Both were small and 
slight of stature, gentle and unassuming in manners, but when 
roused had the strength and agility of the tiger. Both had 
exceptional traits of character, as well as exceptional gifts for 
woodcraft. They were both leading experts of their day and 
guild — and these woods will probably never look upon their 
like again. 



CHAPTER XXXVI 
RAQUETTE AND BLUE MOUNTAIN LAKES 

RAQUETTE LAKE lies very near the actual center of 
the Adirondacks, in Township 40, Totten and Crossfield 
Purchase. The origin of the name has been discussed in 
Chapter VI. The lake is about six miles long and in some 
places almost as Avide, for its irregular shape may be com- 
pared to a starfish. It is full of long promontories and deep 
bays, and its zigzagging shore-line is said to measure over 
forty miles. 

The first settler on the lake was Josiah Wood, who came to 
the place in 1846. He built a cabin on the point that still bears 
the family name, and here the first white child on the lake was 
bom in December, 1848. This w^as Jerome Wood, who still 
(1920) spends his summers on Big Island. 

About a year after Josiah Wood moved in, his brother Wil- 
liam and a friend, Matthew Beach, both single men, arrived on 
the scene and built separate cabins for themselves on Indian 
Point. William Wood, owing to a distressing accident, be- 
came a local freak and curiosity. 

He was tending a trap line one winter and had both his 
feet so completely frozen that they gradually sloughed off. 
Undaunted by this mishap, however, he made leather pads for 
his knees, on which he began stumping around. This worked 
well enough indoors, but not in the snow. His next move, 
therefore, was to attach snow-shoes to his stumps. This he 
did successfully, and soon became so expert on them that, to- 
ward the end of the winter, he hobbled out of the woods to the 
nearest settlement, some forty miles away. He had no inten- 
tion of retiring as a pioneer, however. After securing some 
improved leather pads and some special straps for his snow- 
shoes, he returned to the quiet of his Raquctte home, and lived 
there happily for many years. He trapped, hunted, fished, 
and even cut trees, with all the dexterity of a normal biped. 



RAQUETTE AND BLUE MOUNTAIN LAKES 89 

The Woods and Beach- appear to have been the only settlers 
on the lake for several years. At all events, the next record 
of interest concerns a man named Wilbur, who built a primi- 
tive hotel about a mile above the outlet of Raquette Lake, in 
1857. He called it the ''Kaquette Lake House," and it re- 
mained open for sixteen years. During this period, however, 
it changed hands several times. It passed from Wilbur to 
Cyrus Kellogg, then to Thomas R. Carey, and finally to Reu- 
ben Carey. 

Mr. Durant, to whom I am indebted for much kindly help 
connected with this chapter, has loaned me, among other 
papers, a copy of the register of the Raquette Lake House. It 
offers much of historical interest. It shows that a surprising 
number of people, including ladies, were passing that way at 
a very early date. During the summer of 1857 there was a 
total of forty-four guests. The first to arrive were Alfred G. 
Compton and Thomas M. Barton from New York, under date 
of August 4th. The next entry is on iVugust 13th, when half 
a dozen names are bracketed together as coming from Yale. 
On August 20th twelve names appear, among them those 
of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Loring Brace, whose early connec- 
tion with the woods has been previously commented upon in 
Chapter XXVIII. Mrs. Brace is the first and only lady to 
be registered in 1857.^ In 1858, how^ever, the names of three 
other ladies appear, and Mr. and Mrs. Brace are registered 
for the second and last time. The total of guests for that 
season was seventy-five. It continued to increase in about 
the same ratio each year, and the sprinkling of ladies grew 
proportionately. 

This patronage seems so large for the time and place, that 
it is surprising to leani that the Raquette Lake House closed 
its doors in the autumn of 1873, and remained vacant for 
several years. In 1878 part of the old log structure was 
moved over to the Forked Lake end of the carry on which it 
stood. Here it was slightly enlarged, and opened as the 
''Forked Lake House." It was run by George Leavitt, an old 
lumberman from Friend's Lake, Warren County. Later it 

lit was in 1855 that Lady Amelia M. Murray made lier trip through the 
mountains, two years before the hotel in question was built. 



90 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

was bought by John G. Holland and Dr. Martine, his brother- 
in-law, who leased it to a man named Fletcher. As ''Fletch- 
er's" it became well known and popular. 

In 1865 Alvah Dunning (whose storj^ is told in the next 
chapter) established his headquarters on Raquette Lake, and 
Adirondack Murray ^ began frequenting it the following year. 

In the late sixties Dr. Thomas C. Durant began building his 
Adirondack Railroad from Saratoga to North Creek.^ This 
took him into the woods on exploring expeditions, for he 
wished to have first-hand knowledge of the country he in- 
tended to open and planned to develop. No man was more 
fitted for such an undertaking, for he was one of the most 
far-sighted, dynamic, and successful promoters of his day. 

Thomas C. Durant was born in Lee, Mass., in 1820. He was 
graduated from the Albany Medical College in 1841, and prac- 
tised as a surgeon for a few years. His ardent and adven- 
turous spirit soon tired of professional routine, however, and 
he turned to business. He became a partner in the firm of 
Durant, Lathrop & Co., of Albany, who carried on a large 
European trade. In 1848 he became interested in railroad 
development in the West. He was prominent in organizing 
and building the Michigan Southern, the Chicago and Rock 
Island, and the Mississippi and Missouri railroads. During 
these activities he conceived with others the possibility of 
building a great trunk-line across the continent, and he became 
one of the most active and enthusiastic promoters of the Union 
Pacific. From 1861 to the driving of the last spike in this 
great romance of railroading, he was vice-president and gen- 
eral manager of the enterprise, and acting president most of 
the time. After completing this colossal work he became 
interested in the Adirondack Railroad and the allied develop- 
ments to be recorded here. 

In 1847 he married Heloise Hannah Timbrel of England. 
He died at North Creek in 1885, and left a widow, a daughter 
Heloise Durant Rose, and one son William West Durant. 

The latter was born in Brooklyn, in 1850. He succeeded his 
father as president of the Adirondack Railroad, and carried 

1 See Chap. XVII, "Adirondack Murray." 

2 See Chap. XL, "Railroads." 



RAQUETTE AND BLUE MOUNTAIN LAKES 91 

on his many development schemes with an enthusiasm born of 
genuine delight in the woods. He added whole townships to 
his inherited land holdings ; he built the first artistic camps the 
woods had ever seen, and opened up the Raquette Lake region 
by facilities of transportation unknown before. Indeed, he 
was conspicuously the developer of the central Adirondacks. 
From 1885 to 1900 he enjoyed an unrivaled regency of promi- 
nence and popularity. He entertained largely and royally, 
and made a name for himself as a pioneer woodland host. He 
was the first to make his summer quarters comfortable for 
winter pleasures, and to use them for that purpose. He was 
the first to ask his friends to travel north by train and then by 
sleigh over forty miles of snow and ice for the novelty of 
eating Christmas dinner in the wilderness. He was, in short, 
the first to inaugurate many things which had never been 
dreamed of in the Adirondacks before. 

When he was not in the woods, he was often carrjdng an 
Adirondack name around the world in his sea-going steam- 
yacht the Utowana which he navigated himself. His life of 
these years, therefore, was spent between the deep sea and the 
deep woods. The reefs of disaster lay on the landward 
course, however. His widely extended and interlocking inter- 
ests were adversely affected by the death of his friend and 
prospective associate, Mr. Collis P. Huntington, who died 
very suddenly at Camp Pine Knot, in 1899. At tliis time Mr. 
Durant had also become involved in a protracted lawsuit 
brought by his sister Mrs. Rose over the settlement of their 
father's estate. The courts awarded Mrs. Rose a heavy judg- 
ment. The thickening of these complications forced Mr. 
Durant to dispose gradually of all his Adirondack properties. 

In 1884 he married Miss Janet L. Stott, a daughter of Com- 
modore Stott of Stottville. She sued for a divorce, and was 
granted a decree in 1898. Several years later Mr. Durant 
married again, and is now (1920) living and engaged in busi- 
ness in New York. 

Among the many notable things that he did for the Adiron- 
dacks, nothing has greater historical interest than the building 
of his once famous home on Raquette Lake — Camp Pine Knot. 
This was the first of the artistic and luxurious camps that are 



92 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

so numerous to-day that the story of their multiplication 
might fittingly bear the title ''Camps Is Camps." But when 
Pine Knot rose amid the stately trees on the lone shore of 
Eaquette Lake, it was a now and unique blend of beauty and 
of comfort. It became the show place of the woods. Men 
took a circuitous route in order to gain a glimpse of it, and 
to have been a guest within its timbered walls and among its 
woodland fancies was to wear the hall-mark of the envied. 

Camp Pine Knot had two phases. Dr. Durant had taken an 
early fancy to Long Point, on which it w^as built. Charlie 
Bennett at the time was trying to secure from the State this 
and adjoining lands on the lake, and Dr. Durant, who was fa- 
miliar with the ropes at Albany, offered to assist him there, 
provided he would cede him the coveted point. The deal went 
through and each secured what he wanted. The first build- 
ings to be put up on the point were very simple one-story 
affairs, making no bid for beauty and only a modest one for 
comfort. While they were building, one of the family ran 
across a wonderful pine knot on the shore of the lake. It was 
shaped like the hilt of a sword, and measured some three feet 
across. This curious relic of the forest was made an orna- 
ment of the camp and suggested its name. 

The next phase of Camp Pine Knot was the tearing doAvn of 
the plain original buildings and their gradual replacement by 
eminently beautiful ones. These w^ere conceived, designed, 
and begun by Mr. William West Durant in 1879. In planning 
them he had the happy inspiration to combine the Adirondack 
features of the crude log cabin with the long low lines of the 
graceful Swiss chalet. From this pleasing blend there sprang 
a distinctive school of Adirondack architecture, and "Pine 
Knot" became the prototype of the modern Camp Beautiful. 
Before it was built there was nothing like it; since then, de- 
spite infinite variations, there has been nothing essentially 
different from it. 

Pine Knot kept constantly growing and ultimately became 
a cluster of buildings, large and small, connected and de- 
taclied. One of the latter was unique. It was a pretty bark 
cabin, built on a raft of pine logs, and moored near the boat- 
house. It was used as a guest-room and was called the ''float- 



KAQUETTE AND BLUE MOUNTAIN LAKES 93 

iiig annex." It was later supplanted by an elaborate scow 
house-boat, containing four rooms, a kitchen, bath, and run- 
ning water. This was by far the most luxurious thing of the 
kind that ever floated on Adirondack waters, and it was called 
the ''Barque of Camp Pine Knot." It was sold with the 
camp to Mr. Collis P. Huntington in 1895. 

After building this camp Mr. Durant began acquiring large 
tracts of land. He never owaied more of Township 40 (which 
contains Eaquette Lake) than the Pine Knot point, but he 
bought all of the adjoining Townships 34 and 6, and part of 
No. 5. These are in Hamilton County in the Totten and 
Crossfield Purchase. He also bought lands in Township 28, 
Essex County, containing Rich Lake and Arbutus Lake, and 
other lesser tracts, so that in his day he was probably the 
owner of nearly a million acres of Adirondack real estate. 
Township 34 contained the Eckford Chain of lakes. In Town- 
ship 6 was Shedd Lake (now Sagamore) and Sumner Lake 
(now Lake Kora). In Township 5 lay Mohegan Lake (now 
Uncas). On the shores of this tiny, toy-like lake in the deep- 
est depths of the forest, Mr. Durant built a most wonderful 
camp in 1890. Owing to its utter isolation it was seldom seen 
and but little known, and yet it was more massively beautiful 
and more cunningly luxurious than even Pine Knot. It was 
called "Camp Uncas," and was sold to the senior J. Pierpont 
Morgan in 1895. 

In 1893 picturesque hunting-lodges were built at Shedd 
Lake and Sumner Lake. These were soon enlarged into elab- 
orate camps. Shedd Lake (now Sagamore) was sold in 1901 
to the late Alfred G. Vanderbilt, whose widow, Mrs. Raymond 
T. Baker, now owns and occupies it (1920). Sumner Lake 
(now Lake Kora) was sold in 1896 to the late Governor Tim- 
othy L. Woodruff. It is now owned by the Hon. Francis P. 
Garvin, Alien Property Custodian, who has spent large sums 
of money on the place and made it one of the most expensive 
camps in the Adirondacks. 

Let us now turn from this unique record of camp-building to 
a bird's-eye view of the general developments in the region. 
In 1877 — the year in which the first Pine Knot was built — Dr. 
Durant established a line* of four and six-horse Concord 



94 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

coaches from the terminus of the railroad at North Creek to 
Bhie Mountain Lake, a distance of thirty miles. From there 
to Eaquette Lake, twelve miles, he established a line of row- 
boats. He also stimulated and encouraged the building of 
stopping-places along this route. All the improvements in 
travel and comfort which the elder Durant inaugurated were 
energetically furthered and perfected by his son. 

The latter supplanted the rowboat line by several steam- 
boats, some capable of carrying two hundred passengers. 
Later he built a road between Raquette and Blue Mountain 
lakes. In 1889 he established the first post-office on Raquette 
Lake, and became the first postmaster. He organized and 
was president of the Adirondack, Lake George, and Saratoga 
Telegraph Company, which ran its wires from North Creek 
into the lake region. He constructed a golf-course on Eagle 
Lake, near the site of Ned Buntline's old log cabin. It was 
opened by the champion Harry Vardon in 1899. 

As early as 1883 he raised and contributed money to build 
the Episcopal Church of the IMission of the Good Shepherd on 
St. Hubert's Isle in Raquette Lake. Later he built and do- 
nated a charming little rectory. Both buildings were of 
pleasing rustic design, and this island church became one of 
the unique features of life on the lake. The scene of a bright 
Sunday morning, when the boats gathered from far and near, 
filled with worshipers in gay apparel, was highly picturesque 
and gave church-going the novel charm of a devotional outing 
to a shrine of God-tinged beauty. 

Mr. Durant also built a church for the Catholics, near the 
site of the Raquette Lake post-office. He also gave to them, 
and to the Protestants, land for separate cemeteries on Blue 
Mountain Lake. 

As these developments progressed they brought the results 
for which they were planned. Tourist travel increased, and 
hotels and boarding-camps were erected to take care of it. 
The region also began to be dotted with many private camps, 
reflecting the artistic influence of Pine Knot. Among the 
earliest of these were the Ten Eyck, Hasbrouck, Stott, and 
Apgar camps. These were all built in the seventies, but were 
at first mere log cabins. In 1881, Charles W. Durant, a cousin 



KAQUETTE AND BLUE MOUNTAIN LAKES 95 

of W. W. Durant, who had bought Osprey Island/ erected on 
it a charmingly picturesque camp known as "Fairview." It 
was later purchased by J. Harvey Ladew of New York. In 
1883 Dr. Arpad G. Gerster ^ built a small camp near the Hem- 
locks, and later a larger one on Big Island. After being sold 
to the sculptor Carl Bitter, it was destroyed by fire in 1906. 

While these early private camps were springing up, public 
stopping-places were also dotting the lake shore. They were 
built mostly on the cabin plan, however, and it is noteworthy 
that Raquette Lake escaped the infliction of a big bare-boned 
hotel of the paganly formal type. The public w^s entertained 
in buildings of rustic design, crude enough at first, but grad- 
ually yielding to the atmosphere of beauty and comfort that 
began to permeate the architecture of the lake. The earliest 
of these hotels in log apparel were started between 1875 and 
1880. 

Ike Kenwell built the first on a point often called by his own 
name, opposite Indian Point. The building was a two-story 
log one, called the "Raquette Lake House." He ran it for 
eleven years and then sold to the late Hon. Dennis McCarthy 
of Syracuse, who erected a private camp on the site. 
Mr. Kenwell is still alive (1920), and is now living at Indian 
Lake. 

Chauncey Hathorn, an eccentric character who had been 
Hving the life of a hermit for several years on Blue Moun- 
tain Lake, moved over to Golden Beach and opened the "For- 
est Cottages," which he ran until his death in 1891. Joe Whit- 
ney built a small place on the other side of South Bay, and 
Charlie Blanchard started the Wigwams at the north end of 
the lake. The three Bennett brothers all opened early resorts. 
Two of them became very popular — "Under the Hemlocks," 
run by Ed Bennett, and the "Antlers," run by Charlie Ben- 
nett. The latter place, indeed, became one of the most dis- 
tinctive in the woods and it and its owner call for more than 
passing notice. 

Charles Bennett was born in Peekskill in 1845, and soon 

1 See Chap. XXXVII, "Alvah Dunning." 

2 1 am indebted to Dr. Gerster for much kindly help in gathering data for 
this chapter, and for supplementing them with reminiscent comments of his own. 



96 A HISTOEY OF THE ADIEONDACKS 

afterward his family moved to Long Island. He was a wild 
and restless boy, and he and his brother Ed ran away from 
home together. They wandered into Raquette Lake about 
1874, and Charles stayed there for the rest of his life. He 
died at the Antlers in 1915. He never married. A house- 
keeper Miss Amelia Keller and later a sister Margaret Ben- 
nett helped him run his place until he died. The sister con- 
tinued to run it till 1920, when she sold it for the purposes of 
a boys' club. 

When Charlie first came into the woods he guided for the 
Durants. Then he put up a small cabin for tourists on the 
apex of Long Point. In 1880 he and his brother built Under 
the Hemlocks, and ran it together for a while. It burned 
in 1882, but was rebuilt. In 1885 Charlie bought Constable 
Point and started the Antlers, which, from small and diffi- 
cult beginnings, he nursed into a place of unique charm and 
distinctive merit. 

It was an achievement of personality, and yet there was a 
deviltry of independence in this man's character that would 
seem to preclude precisely this achievement. Nothing seemed 
more obviously important for a tavern host of the early days 
than to win the good will and the good word of the guides. 
The guide was the babbling Baedeker of the woods. He 
planned the route and chose the stopping-places. He could 
double-star the ones ho liked, and double-cross the others. It 
would seem, therefore, that his favor was a necessary factor 
in success. Charlie Bennett managed to explode the theory. 
Although an ex-guide himself, he treated the profession and 
the individual with undisguised contempt. He omitted no op- 
portunity of being mean to them either in speech or act. 
They in turn, of course, omitted no opportunity of abusing 
him and his place, but their solid enmity failed to keep an ever 
increasing patronage from his doors. The tourists went to 
the Antlers, and the guides, according to Charlie, were at 
perfect liberty to go elsewhere. His success under these con- 
ditions was so unusual as to be unique. 

Besides the guides, w^ho had some excuse for making him 
trouble, he had to fight more powerful and threatening influ- 
ences that arrayed themselves against the success of his hotel. 




5 Q 



■*F# ; 



RAQUETTE AND BLUE MOUNTAIN LAKES 97 

The story of it all is too intricate and long to be told here, but 
it led to many a battle royal in which Charlie ultimately came 
out victor. He was a bom fighter, anyhow, and seemed fairly 
to revel in a row. Nor was he at any pains to conceal his de- 
light over the discomfiture of an enemy. A picturesque in- 
stance of this occurred in the early days. 

John G. Holland built the first hotel on Blue Mountain Lake. 
It burned in 1886. Wishing to rebuild, but dreading the long 
haul for lumber from North Creek, he bethought him of an 
old mill that stood unused at the foot of Raquette Lake. He 
then asked Charlie Bennett if he would go into partnership 
on the mill, moving it up the Marion River to Bassett's Carry, 
where it could be used to advantage for both Blue Mountain 
and Raquette Lake. Charlie agreed to the bargain. Mr. 
Durant, who owned the mill, was approached and gave his con- 
sent to the moving. A misunderstanding over the prelimi- 
naries arose between the partners, however, and the matter 
was referred to Mr. Durant, who gave the mill to Holland and 
excluded Charlie altogether from the deal. 

Holland started in the autumn to move the mill on a raft. 
The raft became caught in the early ice. As soon as thicker 
ice formed, further progress was attempted. The boiler was 
placed on a sleigh, and started up the river. But the ice 
proved too thin for such a load. It broke through and sank 
to the bottom. Charlie soon heard of this serious mishap, and 
it filled him with such effervescent joy that he rummaged out 
some fire-balloons and rockets left over from the Fourth of 
July, and set them off in a spirit of public thanksgiving for 
the confusion of his enemy. There was a barbaric frankness 
about this celebration that was typical of the man. He never 
shammed. He pretended no sympathy for Holland. He felt 
an elation which verged on the explosive, and he noised it 
abroad in rockets. 

Early in his career he avowed three dominant ambitions — 
to run a better hotel than anybody else, to travel, and ''to 
give hell to Long Lakers." He achieved all three. The par- 
ticular reason for the last-named yearning was the fact that 
Long Lakers assessed his property, and he claimed that their 
only gage of values was personal spite. He sought to pay 



98 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

them back by a largess of the same coin that became proverb- 
ial. 

This was Charlie the fighter — the man who could make en- 
emies and keep them. But he could also make friends and 
keep them. He was the kind of man who made you love him 
or hate him, and he was a past master in both arts. His 
softer side was full of true tenderness and intuitive delicacy. 
He could do the nicest things in the nicest way, and delighted 
in doing them. He took the most touching care of his aged 
father, and awakened genuine affection in all who worked for 
him faithfully for any length of time. Not only have I heard 
these people sing his praises, but I have heard men who have 
traveled the world over say they would as lief spend a day 
with Charlie Bennett as with any man they ever met. He had 
a keen, intelligent mind, and developed it by a growing fond- 
ness for reading the best books, which in turn awakened in 
him the desire to travel. 

From the first his camp-like hotel was so good and so well 
patronized that he could soon afford to travel, and the more 
he traveled the better his hotel became. His globe-trotting 
was done in the winter, of course. He wandered all over 
America and visited the leading countries of Europe. Wher- 
ever he went he stopped at the best hotels, chiefly to discover 
why they were the best. He mixed not only wdth the guests 
but vdih the management. He liked to watch the wheels go 
round, and was always nosing about for some new trick of the 
trade. If a new dish were set before him, especially abroad, 
he made connection with the chef and learned how to concoct 
it, for he was an excellent cook himself. After ever>' winter 
trip, he returned to apply something appropriate of the knowl- 
edge he had gleaned to the betterment of the Antlers, and 
it gradually acquired touches of comfort and surprises in food 
which were to be had nowhere else in the woods. If he had 
the ingredients, there was scarcely a dish in the Almanac de 
Gotha that Charlie could not prepare, and he delighted to set 
before a foreign guest some specialty of his native land, and 
to prepare little dinners of exotic flavor. This was what gave 
the place a distinctive charm. This was Charlie the caterer. 

There was also Charlie the host. He liked to meet and mix 



KAQUETTE AND BLUE MOUNTAIN LAKES 99 

with his guests, but he did so with discrimination. He tested 
them all before he unbent to any. He was an intuitive reader 
of men, with a swift sureness of judgment. Those who often 
dissented from his obiter dicta w^hen these were uttered, have 
admitted to me that his estimates usually proved right in the 
long run. He was quick to sense the difference between men 
of inherited culture and ancestral wealth, and those who had 
been suddenly tossed to prosperity by a bull market. To the 
latter he gave of his hotel but not of himself. To the former 
he gave of both. 

And when he gave of his better, partly hidden self, he re- 
vealed unexpected depths of charm and interest. Before the 
elect he delighted to show his knowledge of books and of the 
world. His conversation ran into the by-paths of travel and 
literature, and bristled with original comment and amu.sing 
anecdote. Gradually you became aware of listening to a man 
who loved all that was beautiful, and abhorred all shams 
and frauds. And yet you might chance to see this delightful 
companion of a quiet evening in very different guise the fol- 
lowing day. He might be heard too loudly berating a Long 
Laker, or he might be seen fleeing for his life before an en- 
raged French chef with a carving-knife, w^ho considered him- 
self insulted by an irresponsible employer. He might be 
found, in short, in almost any boisterous scene that is sired by 
the overflowing cup. This was a recurrent shadow in his life. 

He was full of fun and constantly playing jokes. But here 
again he ran the gamut of extremes. With ladies his fooling 
was gently whimsical; with men it was sometimes roughly 
Olympic. I have the following instance from a survivor. He 
and Charlie started out in a boat to fish. It was a hot, still 
morning. My friend leaned over and looked into the cool, 
clear w^ater, remarking casually, *'I think I 'd like to take a 
dip." The next instant he took it. Charlie gave the boat a 
violent lurch and both occupants w^ent sprawiing into the lake. 
My friend came up with his nose full of water and his mouth 
•fulFof anger. Charlie, better prepared, came up full of laugh- 
ter, and soon had his victim laughing, too. It was another 
knack he had. He could make any one forgive him — if he 
wanted to. 



100 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

Physically he was a big, broad-shouldered man. His face 
was attractive to the verge of being handsome. His nose was 
a bit too rounded at the end, perhaps, to be purely classical, 
but otherwise his features were almost faultless. The curves 
of the chin were excellent, the mouth was frank and winsome, 
the forehead was broad, and beneath it were the kind of eyes 
that men remember and women seldom forget. They were 
bluish, deep-set, dreamy eyes, yet clear and keen withal. Both 
laughter and lightning played in their depths, and they 
searched you with a level gaze from which there was no am- 
bush. Seldom has the face of a fighter been so free from the 
portents of combat, and so submissive to the sunshine of a 
smile. 

Charlie Bennett had stanch friends and bitter enemies, but 
the number of the latter was far outweighed by the quality of 
the former. These were largely people of culture and dis- 
tinction who had stopped at his hotel or met him in his travels 
at home and abroad. Some of them, I am told, crossed the 
ocean mainly to visit the Antlers. Speaking of this one day 
to a globe-trotting friend whose social contacts were many 
and diverse, I said: ''I suppose Charlie always talked about 
the Antlers in his travels, and so made people curious to 
see his wild-wood home." " It was n't that," came the quick 
answer. "It was his personality that did the trick. I 'd 
cross the ocean myself to spend a day with Charlie Bennett!" 

BLUE MOUNTAIN LAKE 

Blue Mountain, although a much smaller lake, is a sister to 
Raquette in beauty and proximity. The development of the 
two, being inspired by the Durants, went hand in hand, but 
there was one marked difference. Raquette was dominated 
by the camp-beautiful idea in both its private and public build- 
ings, whereas Blue Mountain Lake succumbed, structurally, to 
the hotel horrible. 

The water connection between the two lakes is by way of 
the Marion River and two widenings of it known as Utowana 
and Eagle lakes. These and Blue Mountain Lake were called 
the "Eckford Chain" in the early days, after Henry Eckford, 
a noted engineer and ship-builder, who made a survey of the 



EAQUETTE AND BLUE MOUNTAIN LAKES 101 

lakes while Eobert Fulton was surveying others, under the 
waterway investigation ordered by the State in ISll.^ Later 
Professor Emmons, during his geological survey, named the 
lakes, beginning with the largest, ''Lake Janet," ''Lake Cath- 
erine," and "Lake Marion," all for daughters of Henry 
Eckford. The last name only has survived, as applied to the 
Marion River. Mr. Durant renamed Utowana, Ned Buntline 
renamed Eagle, and John G. Holland renamed Blue Mountain 
Lake. 

Between the early names given by Professor Emmons — so 
-early that there was no one to use and perpetuate them — and 
the names of to-day, there w^as a long period when this chain 
was called the "Tallow Lakes." This strange name had a 
strange genesis. There was an old Indian hunter who started 
across the larger lake one spring with a load of vension tal- 
low in his canoe, which he hoped to sell at a good profit in the 
settlements. The lust of gain proved his undoing, however, 
He overloaded his canoe and was overtaken by a storm, and 
his argosy of grease was swallowed by the angry waters. The 
Indian was childishly atTected by his loss. He bemoaned and 
bewhined it to all who would listen, and men began, half-jok- 
ingly, to call the scene of the tragedy Tallow Lake. 

It was so called when John G. Holland started to build the 
first hotel upon its shores in 1874. Realizing that this would 
hardly be an attractive name for his letter-heads, he cast 
about for something better. He noticed that some of the 
guides spoke of the adjacent mountain — originally named 
Mount Emmons, in honor of the geologist — as "Blue Moun- 
tain," because it often seemed conspicuously tinged w^itli blue. 
Acting on this suggestion, Holland decided to call his place 
the "Blue Mountain Lake Hotel," and so advertised it when 
completed. The name met ^vith general favor and adhered 
to both the lake and the mountain, and was later given to the 
post-office there. 

In 1873 Holland was working at the store in North Creek. 
There he met the sportsmen and lumbermen as they passed 
in and out, and heard their talk of the beautiful lake country 
in the depths of the woods and of how badly it needed accom- 

1 See Chap. XIII, "John Brown's Tract." 



102 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

modations for the traveler. He decided to look over the 
ground and the possibilities. This meant a difficult journey 
in those days. There was only the roughest kind of winter 
road to a lumber camp on Cedar River. Beyond that there 
were only wood trails. Holland was guided over these by a 
man named Henry Austin, who had a rough shanty on Eagle 
Lake. From here they rowed into Blue Mountain Lake, 
where the Morgan Lumber Company was in control and op- 
erating. Holland soon made up his mind to build a hotel, and 
negotiated for a site with the lumber company before leav- 
ing. This was in 1874, and at the time he found a young but 
eccentric hermit living alone on one of the beaches. This was 
Chauncey Hathom, a nephew of Senator Hathorn, owner of 
the Hathorn Spring at Saratoga. The nephew was a young 
man of breeding and education, but of marked eccentricities, 
of which living alone in the woods was one. Later, as has 
been told, he moved over to Golden Beach on Raquette Lake 
and ran a popular boarding-camp there for many years. 

The other permanent resident on Blue Mountain Lake at 
this time was Tyler M. Merwin, who had a log cabin on an 
elevated plateau on a spur of Blue Mountain. After Holland 
had built, Merwin enlarged his place into a hotel which he 
called the *'Blue Mountain House." Perched high above the 
lake, on the Long Lake road, it commanded a wonderful view, 
and became popular with those who did not object to the long 
climb to it. 

Holland drew in the lumber and material for his hotel dur- 
ing the winter. In the spring he began building, and in July, 
1875, he threw open the doors of the first hotel on Blue Moun- 
tain Lake. People fairly rushed in from the start. It was a 
primitive log structure, but it was clean and comfortable, and 
well run, and its patronage was large and steady. Dr. Durant 
was keenlj^ interested in the venture, for a good hotel at that 
point was exactly what he wanted. He helped to open and 
improve the road to it, and, as soon as feasible, put on a line 
of daily stages from the railway station at North Creek. In 
1886 the original Blue Mountain Lake Hotel was completely 
destroyed by fire. It was immediately replaced, however, by a 
much larger and more hotel-like structure, and it was while 



EAQUETTE AND BLUE MOUNTAIN LAKES 103 

preparing to rebuild that the previously related incident of 
moving the mill occurred. The new hotel was also destroyed 
by fire, in 1896, and was never rebuilt. 

Mt. Holland, bom in 1846, is still living and is still in the 
hotel business. He now (1920) runs the Lake Harris House 
at Newcomb, and has been kind enough to furnish me with 
many reminiscences for this chapter. 

The success of the Blue Mountain Lake House led Merwin, 
as has been told, to turn his place into a hotel. But the in- 
crease in summer travel was so rapid that the need of another 
hotel was obvious. It w^as supplied by Frederick C. Durant, 
a cousin of William West, who built the once famous Prospect 
House in 1881. At the time it was the largest and by far the 
most luxurious hotel in the woods, and its erection in that 
remote spot, thirty miles from a railway, was a stupendous 
and remarkable achievement. Structurally it had no outward 
beauty, and was merely a gaunt, ungainly pile of piazzas and 
windows, but inwardlv it contained the latest refinements in 
comfort and convenience. 

It was built on a point projecting into the lake and com- 
manding an unobstructed view in all directions. It held 
thcee hundred rooms, many baths and open fireplaces, a steam 
elevator, electric bells, a bowling-alley, a shooting gallery, a 
billiard room, and a telegraph office. Of greatest historical 
interest, however, is the fact that every bedroom was furn- 
ished with an Edison electric light, and that this hotel was the 
first, not only in the mountains but in the ivorld, to equip its 
sleeping-rooms with this new luxury. Needless to say such 
a hotel speedily took its place as one of the unnatural, almost 
uncanny, wonders of the wilderness. 

The large hotels on this medium-sized lake were its most 
conspicuous feature, and they appear to have dwarfed its 
camp-development. A few camps were built, but not so many 
as the beauty of the spot would seem to warrant. Among the 
earliest was that of Mayor Thacher of Albany, on an island 
opposite Holland's Hotel. This island contained several 
grotto-like caves that were once a curiosity often visited by 
tourists. But the building of a dam raised the water in the 
lake so high as to cover the entrance to these little caverns. 



104 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

The island still belongs to the Thacher family. It was bought 
in 1875 from John Copeland, a guide who had built a rough 
hunting-lodge upon it. This was remodeled later into an at- 
tractive camp. Near it, on the main shore, a Mr. Crane of 
Yonkers built a summer home, and a Colonel Duryea of New 
York built one near the outlet. 



i 



CHAPTER XXXVII 
ALVAH DUNNING 

IN the delightful sketch of Orson Phelps, which has been 
quoted in a previous chapter, Charles Dudley Warner 
assumes to have found a primitive man, and "svith consummate 
literary skill exploits the discovery for our delectation. In- 
deed, his art is so subtle that it scatters gold-dust in our eyes 
and blinds us to what would otherwise be quite obvious — 
that Old Phelps, except in appearance, was not primitive at 
all. He was really wired for all the push-buttons of civiliza- 
tion. He craved intellectual contacts, was sensitive to the 
serenest beauties of nature, and had a sedentary abhorrence 
of the struggle for existence. 

Alvah Dunning, the hermit guide of Raquette Lake, had 
none of these traits, but rather those that entitle him to be 
considered as the real Adirondack prototype of a primitive 
man. His whole nature slanted back to the beginnings of 
I things and resented the poachings of progress. He sought 
solitude and provender in the woods, not beauty. He had a 
troglodytic dislike of neighbors, a primal tendency to warfare 
with them, and a savage streak of cruelty. 

Fortunately this latter failing flared up conspicuously only 
once in his life — when he nearly killed his young wife for 
faithlessness. Ordinarily it was a dormant rather than an 
active taint, and was even unsuspected by many. Passion re- 
vealed it, and drink would undoubtedly have given it full play, 
but luckily Alvah was a temperate man. He drank but sel- 
dom, and never to excess. But if sobriety restrained his prac- 
tice of cruelty, it did not dull his repulsive relish of a tale 
of horror. 

For him the finest man who ever lived was his father's 
ii friend Nicholas Stoner, the famous scout and Indian-killer of 
[Revolutionary days, whose prowess in feats of skill was 
I equaled only by his record of drunken deviltries and fiendish 

105 



106 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

cruelties. Of these Alvali would delight to tell. With a 
twinkle in his eye and a chuckle in his voice, he would recount 
a tale of wantonly inflicted torture that would turn the hearer 
sick. Yet this same Alvah was far kinder than most guides to 
his dogs, of whom he always kept several. He resented noth- 
ing more angrily than their maltreatment. He once turned a 
lucrative hunting-party out of his camp because a member of 
it had kicked and abused the dogs. Of such contradictions 
was Alvah made. 

In his youth, which lasted till he was very old, he was tall 
and straight and slim, thin-flanked, and long-armed. He had 
an Indian's stealth and economy of motion; his strength and 
endurance; his slyness of resource; and even his curve of 
feature. Most prominent was his vulturcsquely beaked nose, 
arching beneath rather small but clear, keen eyes, to whose 
deadly vigilance the red men paid tribute by calling him 
"Snake-Eye." The forehead was broad and sloping, and all 
that was needed was a c^o^\^l of feathers to give the last 
Indian touch to the head. The mouth was small, and the lips 
were thin and tightly pressed together when closed, but could 
part in a pleasant smile when humor moved them. The chin 
was covered by a scraggly beard that trellised up over his 
ears. Both hair and beard turned a pure white in his later 
life, and his skin became as creased and crackled as the bark 
on an old cedar. There could be, all in all, no more tempting 
study for the etcher's needle, and fortunately among the 
former residents of Raquette Lake there was an artist who 
felt the lure of it. My friend Dr. Arpad G. Gerster made 
an excellent etching of this excellent subject, which I am per- 
mitted to reproduce here. He also told me a pretty story that 
went with it. 

While he was fishing once with Alvah on Eighth Lake, the 
guide lost his old silver watch overboard in trying to lift a 
big trout into the boat. The old "onion" was a worthless 
thing, but this in many ways childish old man nearly cried 
over its loss. Dr. Gerster then and there decided to replace 
it with something better. He had seen an excellent photo- 
graph of Alvah, taken by Stoddard. From this he made an 
etching and sold enough proofs to the summer visitors at 



ALVAPI DUNNING 107 

Kaquette Lake to purchase a handsome gold watch. It was 
bought from Benedict's in New York, and when Mr. Benedict 
heard of the circumstances he donated a gold chain. This 
complete outfit was sent to the mountains and presented to 
Alvah by Mr. W. W. Durant, at Camp Pine Knot, the follow- 
ing Christmas. The old guide was so surprised and touched 
by the handsome present that he actually swooned away and 
had to be revived. He carried the watch ever after, and it 
was found upon him at his death. 

Alvah came of stock that explained much of the barbarian 
that was in him. His father, known as ' ' Scout Dunning, ' ' had 
served under Sir William Johnson, and was accounted almost 
as skilled and ruthless an Indian warrior as the more re- 
nowned Nick Stoner. The two were friends, and of similar 
general characteristics. After the killing of Indians had 
ceased to pay, the elder Dunning turned to hunting and trap- 
ping as a means of livelihood. For this purpose he settled at 
Lake Pleasant, and here Alvah was born in June, 1816. 

He began to hunt and trap with his father when only six 
years old, and he guided the first white men into the Raquette 
Lake region when he was only twelve. A year prior to this 
the great event of his life had happened : he had shot his first 
moose. He had long craved the opportunity, but moose-hunt- 
ing was considered too dangerous a sport for a youth of eleven 
to share. Finally, one day his father consented to take him 
along, but merely as spectator. Alvah was allowed to take 
his rifle, however, and was given the dog to lead. The father 
went ahead, and the boy follow^ed, lagging intentionally more 
and more in the rear. He had secretly made up his mind that 
he was going to kill a moose himself, and he had concocted a 
clever scheme for accomplishing his purpose. 

He had listened attentively whenever the talk had been of 
moose. He had learned that they will run from the sight 
or the scent of a man, but will attack him if wounded; that 
Uhey will usually turn and give fight, if followed by a dog; 
land that the fatal place to hit them is at the butt of the 
|ear. Ruminating on these things, he noticed the dog pick 
jup a scent. Quick as a wink he slipped the leash and let him 
go. His father heard the commotion, and shouted back to 



108 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

know the cause. Alvali said the dog had gotten away from 
him, but that he would catch him, and, suiting the action to the 
word, he scampered off as fast as his heels would carry him. 
After he had run about half a mile, both his haste and his cun- 
ning were rewarded, for he saw the very sight he had hoped 
to see — the dog and a moose standing at bay. The two ani- 
mals were so absorbed in each other that he was able to ap- 
proach unnoticed. He raised his gun, took careful aim, and 
fired — and the moose fell dead. Alvah never told the story 
without adding that this was the proudest moment of his Ufe, 
but that it was followed by one of deep depression. 

His father, arriving on the scene, being a man of few words, 
said little or nothing. He merely pulled out his knife and 
began skinning the moose. The boy could see plainly, how- 
ever, that the old hunter was skeptical about what had hap- 
pened, and was looking carefully for a bullet hole. Alvah 
was eager to have it show up, too; but it didn't. The whole 
skin was gone over carefully without the slightest trace of 
a puncture being found. 

"Just as I thought,'* remarked the old man, contemptu- 
ously. "Yer only scart him to death." 

This was an awful verdict and an awful moment for Alvah. 
He snatched the skin in despair and went over it again. 
But in vain. Finally it occurred to him to cut into the 
animal's brain, and there at last the bullet was found, and 
the boy^s prowess was more than vindicated. He had aimed 
of course at the ear, and the moose had so dipped his head 
at the moment of firing that the bullet passed through the 
aural cavity and so did its deadly work without leaving any 
mark on the skin. 

Such was the remarkable and unique beginning of a long 
and unequaled career. Alvah probably killed, or helped kill, 
more moose than any of his contemporaries in these woods. 
He kept no records, and had only a vague idea of the grand 
total, but he remembered distinctly that when he hmited 
with his father — who made a business of killing and selHng 
moose — they often brought dowTi three or four in a day, and 
occasionally as many as five. This shows how plentiful the 
animals were in the early days. 



ALVAH DUNNING 109 

The more remarkable seems their sudden and almost com- 
plete disappearance during the winter of 1854r-55. This 
mysterious exodus is considered by zoologists one of the most 
curious incidents in the natural history of the State. Alvah 
recalled it distinctly, and never tired of speculating on the 
causes of this sudden "peterin' out" of his favorite game. 
It was the more incomprehensible to him because he had 
never seen so many moose in the woods as in the autumn of 
1854. After that, he and others saw and shot only an oc- 
casional straggler. 

Who actually killed the last moose has long been a debated 
question. There have been many aspirants to the distinc- 
tion. Alvah himself claimed it, and Fred Mather supports 
his claim by saying: ''The fact is that Alvah Dunning killed 
the last Adirondack moose in March, 1862." ^ 

On the other hand, no less an authority than Mr. Madison 
Grant, after making a lengthy and painstaking investigation 
of the subject, comes to a different conclusion. He says : 

I The last authentic moose in the Adirondacks was killed in the au- 
'tumn of the same year [1861], on the east inlet of Raquette Lake. A 
party of sportsmen, guided by Palmer of Long Lake, was canoeing 
down Marion River toward the lake. On turning a bend in the river 
they were surprised to see a huge creature start up among the lily- 
pads and plunge wildly toward the shore. Several charges of shot 
5 were fired with no visible effect, when Palmer took deliberate aim with 
jhis rifle, and killed the animal on the spot. It proved to be a cow 
moose, the last known native of its race in New York State.^ 

To decide positively between these two claims seems now 
fjimpossible. They at least simmer the discussion down to a 
narrow margin. The dates are but a few months apart. 
Most people, I fancy, will incline to wish the distinction upon 
Alvah, if merely from a sense of poetic justice. The man 
and the event seem logically interlocked. To be told that 
Alvah did not kill the last moose, is like being told that St. 
Greorge did not kill the last dragon. 

For the first half of his life Alvah made his headquarters 

1 "Men I Have Fished With." Field and Stream, April, 1897. 
^Century Magazine, January, 1894. See also: "Moose," Forest, Fish, and 
rame Conmvission Report for 1001, p. 235. 



110 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

around Lake Pleasant and Lake Piseco, and probably would 
have continued to do so, had not the episode with his faith- 
less wife occurred. When he discovered that she had strayed 
from the narrow path, he inflicted so brutal a chastisement 
upon her that even a somewhat callous backwoods community 
raised the hue and cry against him. The penalty of the law 
also was invoked, and his only hope of avoiding arrest, and 
perhaps something worse, w^as to leave the settlement by 
stealth and wdth despatch. He plunged into the deeper 
woods, and remained in them the greater part of his life. 

For a considerable time, of course, he was obliged to keep 
in absolute hiding, and his enjoyment of complete solitude 
determined him to become a permanent hermit. This seemed 
a perfectly simple thing to do in the woods of those days, but 
it proved otherwise. The xVdirondacks had been discovered; 
their deepest solitudes were springing leaks, as it were, and 
people kept oozing in. Thus all Alvah's eiforts to be a real 
hermit were sooner or later frustrated, and he took the disap- 
pointment much to heart. The discovery that civilization 
abhors a hermit dawned on him as a personal persecution 
which finally drove him out of the woods. 

The people who disturbed his loneliness at first were those 
who knew of his wonderful woodcraft and sought his services 
as guide. He cared but little for the money they brought 
him, and less for the company. 

''They pay me well enough," he would say, "but I 'd rather 
they 'd stay out o' my woods. They come, and I might as 
w^ell guide 'em as anybody, but I 'd ruther they 'd stay ter 
hum and keep their money. I don't need it. I kin git along 
without 'em. They 're mostly dumed fools, anyhow!" 

This estimate of city-dwellers fell often from his lips. It 
was not evoked solely by flippancy of dress or awkwardness 
in woodcraft; it was meant to imply in many cases nothing 
less than intellectual inferiority. Early in his career he had 
discovered that the man he was guiding thought the earth was 
round, that it turned over like a restless sleeper in the night, 
and did other strange things utterly out of keeping with a 
rational universe. Alvah was convinced that he had met a 



ALVAH DUNNING 111 

freak, and treasured the experience as a delightful joke. He 
told it to those who were expected to relish the keen humor 
of the thing, but often only to find that he had added another 
freak to his list. This gradually became so extended that he 
came to believe that most people who wanted a guide also 
needed a keeper. Those who wished to stand well with him 
used diplomacy and allowed him to think that they shared his 
point of view. Argument was useless. He would take a cup 
of water, turn it over, and remark cynically : 

"Ain't that what wud happen to yer lakes and rivers if yer 
turned 'em upside down? I ain't believin' no such tommy- 
rot as that!" 

And he never did. Although he lived to be nearly ninety, 
he died in the unshaken conviction that the earth was flat and 
stationary. His attitude toward the game laws was similar: 
his reasoning did not go beyond what seemed to him the obvi- 
ous. There was plenty of game in the woods, and when he was 
hungrj^ he felt privileged to take it. He looked upon this pre- 
rogative as a hunter's right of eminent domain — as an inher- 
ited feudal freedom of the chase. His father had lived by gun 
and rod, and he had been bred to these weapons of livelihood 
from infancy. His right to live was his right to kill. He was 
an old man, moreover, before any radical game laws were 
enacted, and so he only resented them the more. They were 
a newfangled notion — another change for the worse. Speak- 
ing of happier times, he would say : 

*'In the old days I could kill a little meat when I needed it, 
but now they 're a-savin' it for them city dudes with velvet 
suits and pop-guns, that can't hit a deer if they see it, and 
don't want it if they do hit it. But they 'd put me in jail if I 
killed a deer 'cause I was hungry. I dunno what we 're 
a-comin' to in this 'ere free country!" 

5 As a matter of fact, he was never put in jail, nor was he 
ever prosecuted for violating the game laws, although he con- 
|tinued to break them to the end of his life. The authorities 
seemed tacitly agreed to leave him unmolested. It was 
largely out of sympathy for the lonely old man, and partly 
because they knew that he made no flagrant abuse of his im- 



112 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

munity. He never traded in his contraband. He killed only 
when his larder needed replenishing, and this never happened 
from any waste on his part. 

Even when guiding he was averse to any superfluous slaugh- 
ter, and would oppose it either openly or by stealth. He was 
always angry if any unused meat was left in the woods, and 
indignant if any one shot a deer merely for the sake of carry- 
ing home some part of it as a trophy. This attitude was 
naturally considered poor business by many of his brother 
guides, and it made him unpopular with them and the whole 
breed of porcine hunters. When he consented to act as guide 
— which was not always — he gave full value for his wages. 
He neither shirked nor loafed, and if he did not deliver the 
goods, it was no fault of his. 

Dr. Gerster has told me of an experience in this connection 
which shows a surprising sense of honor in one who was often 
supposed to have very little. It is, moreover, I believe, a 
unique incident in the annals of guidedom. The doctor was 
to go out with some untried hunters, and to take his ovm 
guide. He took Alvah Dunning. The day's sport was badly 
bungled, and nothing but vexation came of it. The doctor, 
disgusted, decided to go home early, and attempted to set- 
tle with Alvah. But the latter, equally disgusted, flatly re- 
fused to take any money. **I ain't done nothin' to earn it," 
he said, *'and I won't take it" — and this despite the fact that 
no share of the day's fiasco attached to him, because he had 
been forced to submit to the mismanagement of others. 

Where this was not the case, the word failure was seldom 
written into his records. He was probably the most wily and 
resourceful hunter, fisher, and trapper the Adirondacks ever 
housed. John Cheney and Mitchell Sabattis alone were in his 
class. They had sturdier characters and broader minds, but 
it is doubtful if they possessed all his refinements in wood- 
craft. They spent much time in the woods, but he lived there 
all of the time, and for the most part alone. The human voice 
was less familiar to him than the noises of birds and animals, 
and he often seemed able to understand and speak their lan- 
guage. He could lure the timid mink from its hole by imita- 
tive chippering, and trick a frightened deer back to the water's 



i 




;tM .t'-hiii^ l.y Dr. Arpuil ii tierster 

ALVAH DUXXIXG 
Venator, piscator et laqueator, natus a.d. 1814, mortuus 10 Martii. igo2 



ALVAH DUNNING 113 

edge by deceptive bleatings with his throat and splashings 
with his hands. 

After his enforced disappearance from the settlements, he 
became a lone dweller on Blue Mountain Lake. Here he later 
on fell in and then out with Ned Buntline, and carried on his 
famous guerrilla feud with that — from Alvah's point of view 
— highly undesirable and offensive citizen.^ This and the 
fact that people began to stray into Blue Mountain Lake more 
frequently than seemed consistent with his ideas of solitude, 
caused him to move over to Raquette Lake in 1865. Here, for 
twelve winters, he lived absolutely alone on its shores, and it 
was a long time before he could complain of being crowded 
by summer visitors. One of the earliest of these was Adiron- 
dack Murray, whom he liked and for whom he often guided. 

Alvah at first made his home on Indian Point, but in the 
autumn of 1869 he took possession of the open camp on Osprey 
Island which Murray had built there and occupied for three 
summers. Alvah enclosed this and lived in it till it burned 
down in 1875. He then erected a rough shanty — his abodes 
were always very crude and unlovely affairs — and continued 
to occupy the island till about 1880.^ 

About this time, Dr. Thomas C. Durant, who owned the 
island, wished to sell it to his nephew Charles Durant. Alvah 
was, therefore, requested to vacate. But he refused. It al- 
ways made him angry to be told that his squatter rights were 
not tantamount to a clear title. In this case he not only took 

1 See Chap. XXXVIII, " 'Ned Buntline.' " 

2 This second home on Osprey Island was built at the foot of a big cedar, three 
feet in diameter. Once during a severe storm Alvah noticed that the side of his 
jhanty was lifted several inches every time the big tree swayed in the gale. 
When the wind subsided, he cut down the dangerous tree and dug up the roots. 
Under them he found a bed of coals, which seemed to indicate an ancient focus 
jr hearth. In this he discovered the shreds of three earthen pots, which must 
have been of great antiquity, because the tree proved to be between four and five 
lundred years old. Alvah gave these interesting relics to Dr. Arpad G. Gerster 
)f New York, who now has his summer home on Long Lake, and to whom 1 am 
ndebted for the facts concerning them. Dr. Gerster also informs me that near 
he Brown's Tract Inlet shanty Alvah found other finely decorated bits of pot- 
ery, and a very beautiful ax of greenish stone. All of which tends to confirm 
he theory, advanced by some historians and mentioned earlier in this work, that 
hese woods once housed a prehistoric race whose skill in the rude arts exceeded 
hat of the Indians. 



114 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

the position of a man with a warranty deed behind him but he 
made tlie more impressive gesture of a man with a gun at his 
shoulder. He threatened to shoot any one who put foot on the 
island. This brought matters to an awkward dead-lock, of 
course. Eviction by force had many drawbacks and the door 
to diplomacy was not easy to open, but Mrs. Thomas Duraut 
finally found a way of doing it. She caught the trouble maker 
in an uncommissioned mood one day and induced liim to come 
and drink a cup of tea with her at Camp Pine Knot. He had, 
as she knew, a particular weakness for this beverage, and in 
this case, combined with feminine persuasiveness, it acted as 
an opiate in his stubbornness. He consented to move off the 
island and to accept one hundred dollars for being so obliging. 
After the conference he said: '*Alvah can be coaxed, but he 
can't be druv." 

Despite this he always nursed a grouch over the incident. 
He decided that Raquette Lake was getting far too crowded 
for comfort, and again he tried to find seclusion by settling 
on the shores of Eighth Lake in the Fulton Chain. But his 
fate pursued him here. His loneliness did not endure. He 
soon found himself on a highway of ever increasing travel, 
and finally a small shanty, pretending to cater to tourists, was 
built on the only island in the lake. This looked like a hotel 
to Alvah, and in despair he wandered back to Raquette Lake. 
This time he built near the entrance to Brown's Tract Inlet. 
From time to time he went back to Eighth Lake, however, and 
he made his last headquarters in the woods there. 

His hut near Brown's Tract Inlet was built in 1896, and for 
three years he enjoyed it unmolested. But then one day a 
stranger appeared on the scene, armed with legal papers, legal 
phrases, and bank-bills. He explained to Alvah that the site 
he occupied was needed for a railway station,^ and offered to 
pay him for vacating it. The announcement that a locomotive 
was actually to come puffing and screeching to the very shores 
of his sanctum, affected him much as if he had been hit by it. 
He was simply stunned into docility. Instead of offering to 
shoot the stranger, he meekly accepted his money and agreed 
to move out. But his spirit and his heart seemed broken. 

1 For the Raquette Lake Railroad. See Chap. XL, "Railroads." 



ALVAH DUNNING 115 

*'I guess I Ve lived too long," he said, with a real tear in 
his voice. '*I used to hope I could die in peace in the wilder- 
ness where I was bora, but if I don't slip my wind pretty 
quick, I guess there ain't goin' to be no wilderness to die in. 
I 've heerd tell the Rockies was bigger. I guess I '11 go out 
yonder and hunt for a quiet corner out o' reach of tootin' 
steamboats and screechin' en-gines." 

And he did. This old man of eighty-three, who felt himself 
jostled and elbowed out of overcrowded woods, wandered 
forth across the continent in a last, long quest for solitude and 
peace. The parting seemed to pull at his heartstrings as 
nothing else had ever done before. He even went around and 
said good-by to his friends among the summer campers, most 
of whom had always treated him with charity and kindness. 
He seemed to realize it now more than ever. His farewells 
were not effusive, but their simplicity was touched with sol- 
emn pathos. There was something in them after all of royal 
abdication. Here was a rude king of the woods leaving his 
inherited domain — a Lear of the forest being driven out into 
the night. 

It was in 1899 that he went West, but he did not stay. The 
pull of the Adirondacks proved too strong. Within a year 
he was back on the shores of his beloved Raquette Lake 
again — this time on Golden Beach, near South Inlet. But it 
was not the Alvah of yore that came back; it was Alvah the 
last phase — a man broken in spirit, and bending beneath the 
weight of years and disappointments. He fished and hunted 
a little, and was employed by the old campers as ex-officio 
guide or salaried guest in the summer. The winters he no 
longer spent alone ; he even consented to spend them in cities. 
His double trip across the continent had softened his attitude 
toward travel and companionship. It had changed the hermit 
into something of a gadabout. He spent his last winters in 
various places with different people, but principally with a 
sister who lived in Syracuse. 

In March, 1902, he attended the Sportsmen's Show in New 
York. On his way home he stopped at Utica and put up for 
the night at the Dudley House— a hotel where illuminating- 
gas was still in use. The following morning he was found 



116 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

asphyxiated in his bed — the gas-jet had been leaking all night. 
That the occurrence was an accident there seems no good rea- 
son to doubt. His death took place on March 10th, and the 
papers all over the country published lengthy obituaries of 
*'The Last of the Great Adirondack Guides." 

The manner of his death was the crowding irony of his fate. 
All his life he had considered himself hounded by the en- 
croachments of civilization, and he succumbed at last in at- 
tempting to use one of its antiquated devices. In the safety 
of the woods he might have Uved to be a hundred ; as it was, 
he died prematurely from the dangers of a room, at the age of 
eighty-six. As he had begun to hunt and trap with his father 
when six years old, he had a record of virtually eighty years 
in the woods. During most of them he lived entirely alone, 
and during many of them in complete isolation. Up to the 
last few years of his life he retained wonderful vigor and 
endurance. Commenting on this in a delightful little sketch ^ 
of the guide he knew so well, my friend Dr. Gerster says: 

I saw him in his 70th year carry a boat across to Eighth Lake, a 
distance of one and a half miles, with two rests only, and I found him 
on another occasion at dawn on the beach of his lake, fast asleep, 
curled up like a woodchiick, dusted all over with snow which was 
falling. He had come to the lake after dark. His calls were drowned 
by the wind, hence not heard by us ; so he decided to sleep where he 
was and succeeded capitally, without blanket or sheUer. Alarmed 
about him, we started to look for him on the carry, where many trees 
had been blown down by the storm. He slept like a child and had to 
be shaken out of his slumbers. 

He remained, indeed, throughout his life a child of the 
woods, not only physically but mentally and morally. And as 
such he must be judged. He was notable for his skill, his her- 
mit habits, and a strange mixture of lawlessness and honesty. 
He had no gift for making friends. He was, rather, an adept 
in the gentle art of not making them. Yet he was friendly and 
faithful to those whom he liked. His defenders were among 
the best sportsmen; his detractors were, for the most part, 
among the worst. 

1 "Etching as a Diversion." The Medical Pickuick, October, 1916. 



I 



ALVAH DUNNING 117 

His fellow guides, as a rule, did not like him, but Jack Shep- 
pard, one of the most popular and intelligent Fulton Chain 
guides of the old days, who had known Alvah for thirty years, 
once spoke of him to Fred Mather in these words :^ "He 
was an honest and hospitable man of the old style, all of whom 
looked on game laws as infringements on the rights of men 
who live in the woods. He was the last of a type that is 
passed. He killed deer when he needed it, caught a trout out 
of season to bait his trap, firmly believed it a sin to kill waste- 
fully, and destroyed less game than many who cried out 
against him." 

Let this be his epitaph. It would be difficult to phrase a 
better one for this old "hunter home from the hill." 

i"Men I Have Fislied With." Field a7id Stream, April, 1897. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII 
"NED BUNTLINE" 

THIS was the pen-name of Edward Zane Carroll Judson, 
who swaggered into the lime-light of popularity as a 
swash-buckling adventurer and a prolific purveyor of penny- 
dreadfuls, about the middle of the last century. His contri- 
bution to English literature was not lasting, but it was quan- 
titative and lucrative. It brought him a measure of fame, 
and he is given a place in dictionaries of biography. He 
earned mention here by living in the Adirondacks in his later 
life and leaving a short but vivid trail behind him. 

He was born in Philadelphia in 1822. His father was a 
lawyer of standing in that city. The elder Judson wished his 
son to become a clergyman, but the boy decided on a different 
career at a very early age. "When only eleven years old he 
ran away from home and went to sea as a cabin-boy. A year 
later he found berth on a man-of-w^ar. 

According to one account of his life, when he was thirteen 
years old he saved the occupants of a small craft that had been 
run into and upset by a Fulton Ferry boat. The rescue was 
plucky and spectacular, and w^as brought to the attention of 
President Van Buren, who, as reward, offered the young hero 
a commission as midshipman in the United States Navy. Ned 
was probably more than thirteen at the time, however, for the 
records show that he was midshipman from February 10, 
1838, to June 8, 1842, when he resigned. 

During these four years in the navy he added to his reputa- 
tion for valor by fighting seven duels \\ath shipmates who as- 
sumed to slight him for having been a common sailor. He 
came out of all these encounters victorious and unscathed. It 
was also during this time that he began writing, and his first 
story was published in the ''Knickerbocker Magazine" in 
1838. It met with marked success, .and others followed rap- 
idly. 

118 



^*NED BUNTLINE" 119 

Ned was in the Mexican War and in the Seminole War in 
Florida. In 1S48 he became editor of a New York story- 
paper called "Ned Buntline's Own." In the spring of the 
following year the memorable quarrel between the American 
actor Edwin Forrest and his English rival Macready, came 
to a head in the Astor Place riots. The press on both sides 
of the controversy was virulently bitter, and the editor of 
**Ned Buntline's Own" used the paper for language of the 
most blatant spread-eagleism. On the eventful night of May 
10, 1849 — when things came to a violent climax — Ned was 
arrested for haranguing a crowd in Lafayette Place. Ho was 
sentenced to pay a fine of $250 and to one year's imprison- 
ment. After his release he began writing stories again, and 
then it was that he took the name of '*Ned Buntline," from 
the paper he had formerly edited. Thereafter he w^as 
scarcely known by any other. 

He had a fatal facility for turning out trashy stuff about 
impossible heroes and foiled villains. While editor of the 
story-paper he is said to have run six serials at the same time 
from his o\\m pen but under different names. There was al- 
ways the ending of one and the beginning of another in each 
issue of the paper. And this sort of thing paid surprisingly 
well. It is recorded that he earned no less than $20,000 a 
year in the heyday of his ink-slinging. 

In his earlier days he wrote a realistic sketch of Bowery 
life called *'The Mysteries and Miseries of New York." It 
was made into a play and put on the stage under the name of 
"New York as It Is." F. S. Chanfrau made a big hit in the 
leading part of Mose, who was a pure-hearted, slangy-mouthed 
Bowery tough, clad in a red shirt and acutely tilted Derby hat. 
The picturesque pearls that fell from his lips were eagerly 
garnered into the vocabulary of every school-boy of the time. 

Ned went to the Adirondacks in 1859, and made them his 
headquarters for two years. Soon after the Civil War broke 
out he enlisted and served ^vith distinction. He came out of 
it with five wounds, one of which made him slightly lame for 
the rest of his life. In Suffolk, Va., he was appointed chief of 
scouts, with the rank of Colonel. Wlien his regiment went 
into -udnter quarters he was given a cabin in which to do his 



120 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

writing. In his leisure moments he was always writing or— 
drinking. An extremist in all things, he was extremely fond 
of the cup that cheers. He reformed in later life, however, 
and became a temperance lecturer for the Order of Good Tem- 
plars. He also founded the Order of the Sons of Temper- 
ance. 

According to Fred Mather, who wrote an interesting sketch 
of him for "Forest and Stream" (July, 1897), Ned was the 
discoverer and original promoter of Buffalo Bill (William C. 
Cody) and Texas Jack (John Omohondro). He pulled them 
out of an unappreciative West, clothed them with the romance 
of thrilling adventure, and launched them loudly on a recep- 
tive East. The sequel is known to every one. 

Ned left the Adirondacks in 1861, and settled in the Cats- 
kills. He built himself a really handsome home there in 
Stamford, Delaware County, N. Y., and transferred to it the 
name of "Eagle's Nest." There he spent the last years of 
his life, and there he died on July 16, 1886. 

He undoubtedly had in him the makings of a big man, but 
he sadly misused the ingredients. He was unquestionably 
brave and daring, a sincere patriot, and a stanch and generous 
friend, but he spoiled these sterling traits by loud mouthings 
and a braggadocio manner that made him appear like one of 
his o^vn cheap heroes. He took himself, his deeds, and his 
writings with profound and admiring seriousness, and utterly 
lacked the saving grace of humor. He was at times as tender- 
hearted as a woman, and again as fierce as a tiger. The tail 
of his eye was always scouting for trouble, and if he failed 
to find it for his own account, he was eager to take up the 
quarrel of any friend or chance acquaintance. He carried a 
chip on his shoulder wherever he went, and of course he took 
it to the Adirondacks with him. 

He settled there, as has been said, in 1859. He built a log 
cabin on the north shore of Eagle Lake, and called it "Eagle's 
Nest." He took with him to this lonely spot a very young 
wife, who died there in childbirth the following year. She 
was buried near the cabin, but many years later her remains 
were removed to the Protestant Cemetery on Blue Mountain 



"NED BUNTLINE" 121 

Lake, where a bronze tablet, bearing the f ollomng inscription, 
was placed over them : 

Here lie tlie remains of Eva Gardner, wife of E. C. Z. Judson (Ned Buntline), 
together with her infant. She died at "Eagle's Nest" March 4, 1860, in the nine- 
teenth year of her age. and was hiiried where a constant desecration of her grave 
was inevitahle, to avoid which the bodies were removed and this monument 
erected in 1S91 by William West Durant. 

While in the mountains Ned spent most of his time writing, 
with hunting and fishing as local relaxations. When he had 
written himself very dry, which was not infrequently, he 
would go to the settlements — usually to Glens Falls — and sit 
near a barrel of whisky as long as it lasted. Then he would 
return to his wild-wood home, for he was punctilious about 
his sprees: he would never take more than one barrel at a 
sitting. 

His Adirondack record was true to type. It was lifted into 
local prominence by a spectacular feud with Alvah Dunning. 
After settling on Eagle Lake he arrogated to himself the sole 
right to fish in its waters and hunt on its shores. They be- 
came his private preserve, and he resented any intrusion. He 
is said to have frightened away several surprised fishermen 
by appearing before his cabin, dressed as an Indian, executing 
a war-dance, and emitting threatening yells. To this, if nec- 
essary, would occasionally be added a warning shot from liis 
gun. 

After building Eagle's Nest, Ned hired Alvah Dunning as 
guide and helper. The partnership was brief, however. The 
two men rubbed each other the wrong way from the start. 
They quarreled at first over little things, and then over bigger 
ones. The final split was over the killing of game. Ned, who 
had money and could buy all the supplies he needed, main- 
tained that the few game laws which then existed should be 
rigidly observed and enforced, and set himself up as their self- 
appointed crusader. Alvah, who had no money, and had al- 
ways subsisted by his gun and rod, claimed the right to kill a 
deer or catch a fish whenever, and also wherever, he was hun- 
gry. He snapped his fingers, moreover, at Ned's assumed 
control of Eagle Lake. Neither man could get the other's 



122 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

point of view. Argument became abuse, and abuse verged on 
violence. They parted swearing eternal hatred and ven- 
geance, and threatening to shoot each other on sight. This 
they never did, but they did everything else that could annoy 
and harass, and the incidents of their locally famous feud were 
the daily gossip of the woods around 1860. 

Speaking of the affair to Fred Mather in later years, Ned, 
in tones of contempt, referred to Alvah as an ' ' amaroogian. " 
The author of ''Men I Have Fished With" admits he could 
find this word in no dictionary, and then adds: *'Yet some- 
how I seem to know that it signifies a kind of unsophisticated 
woodsman, who cannot fraternize with a man of the world 
like Ned Buntline." 

The Adirondack sojourn yielded a more permanent bid for 
fame, however, than the Alvah Dunning quarrel. In the first 
enthusiasm of his new mountain home, Ned sat down and 
wrote some verses in its praise that had a catching lilt and a 
true ring to them. They spread like wild-fire through the 
papers of the day, and were finally enshrined in some anthol- 
ogies. As they are the only relic of his enormous output that 
has lived, and as they were written in and about the Adiron- 
dacks, they may fittingly be appended here : 

Where the silvery gleam of the rushing stream 
Is so brightly seen on the rock's dark green, 
Where the white pink grows by the wild red rose, 
And the bluebird sings till the welkin rings; 

Where the red deer leaps and the panther creeps. 
And the eagles scream over clifT and stream; 
Where the lilies bow their heads of snow, 
And the hemlocks tall throw a shade o'er all ; 

Where the rolling surf laves the emerald turf, 
Where the trout leaps high at the hovering fly. 
Where the sportive fawn crops the soft green lawn, 
And the crow's shrill cry bodes a tempest nigh — 
There is my home — my wildwood home. 



CHAPTER XXXIX 
OLD MILITARY ROADS 

THERE are three so-called "Old Military Roads" that 
were opened through the Adirondacks at a very early 
date. Tradition, in each locality through which they ran, 
asserts that they were built by the soldiers in 1812, but tradi- 
tion, it will be easy to show, is not supported by the recorded 
facts. 

These roads can be seen on certain early maps. The earli- 
est I have discovered was published by John H. Eddy in 1818, 
and is in the Boston Public Library (No. 143.5). The roads 
appear again on a map of New^ York State published in 1830 
by Silas Andrus of Hartford, Conn. (Boston Public Library, 
Map 1016.12), and on a map by Andrus & Judd of Hartford, 
published in 1833. 

The roads ran actually between the following places. The 
most southerly one ran from Fish House to Russell; the cen- 
tral one from Chester to Russell ; and the northern one from 
Westport to Hopkinton. 

The central road from Chester to Russell was the earliest 
one to be projected. It was authorized by an act of 1807 "to 
lay out and open a road from the to-s\Ti of Chester to the town 
of Canton." Chester is in the northern part of Warren 
County, just south of Schroon Lake. Canton is in the central 
part of St. Lawrence County, a little north of Russell. The 
road only reached this latter place at first, as shown by maps 
of 1818 and 1833. The extension to Canton was not made till 
1834. 

The exact course of this road was as follows : Starting at 
Chester it ran northwesterly into and through Essex County, 
following approximately the North Branch of the Hudson 
River. It then turned to the west, passing through the ex- 
treme northeastern comer of Hamilton County and crossing 
there the outlet of Long Lake. Thence it passed into the 

123 



124 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

extreme southwestern corner of Franklin County, and so into 
St. Lawrence County, skirting the southern end of Big Tupper 
Lake. After that it followed the general direction of the 
Grasse River to Russell. 

Those interested in seeing the exact course of this first 
highway through the mountains can easily do so by securing 
one of the folders (Four-Track Series No. 20) published by 
the Hudson River Railroad Company. This folder contains 
an excellent map of the central lake region of the Adirondack 
Mountains, and outlines the course of the road in question. It 
refers to it as ''the Old Mihtary Road, built in 1812, from 
Ogdensburg to Lake George. Now nothing but a trail except 
in portions which have since been improved. ' * 

This inscription offers several points of interest. It tends 
to perpetuate the persistent legend that the road was a mili- 
tary one, built by the soldiers in 1812. This is clearly dis- 
proved by the several acts passed by the Legislature concern- 
ing the road. They do not contain the remotest hint of any 
military purpose. The road was begun, moreover, in 1808. 
It was evidently completed, or nearly so, in 1812. But that 
was a mere coincidence. Nor did it extend from Ogdensburg 
to Lake George. Such connections were made at a much later 
date. The original road began at Chester and extended to 
Russell only. As late as 1833 the map to which I have re- 
ferred indicates the road as "State Road from Chester to 
Russell." 

Attention should be called to the fact that on the Hudson 
River folder the first long westerly bend of the road passes 
along the northern edge of Hamilton County, instead, as in the 
older maps, of skirting the southern edge of Franklin County. 

A peculiar circumstance which people have associated with 
this road has undoubtedly helped to lend color to the fable of 
its military origin. At two points comparatively near the 
road the ruins of old English cannon have been discovered, 
and were still visible in 1905. 

One cannon lay in the Anthony Ponds clearing, just south 
of the road in its westerly turn across the outlet of Long Lake. 
The other lay about two miles south of Big Tupper Lake, very 
near the boundary line between Hamilton and St. Lawrence 



OLD MILITARY ROADS 125 

counties. This also w^as south of the old road. Both of the 
cannon had fallen to pieces with age ; their wood had turned to 
mould, their iron to rust. Their brass barrels alone had re- 
sisted the ravages of time. These showed them to be of Eng- 
lish make and 14-pounders. 

A strange but enlightening thing happened to the Tupper 
Lake cannon. After it fell to pieces from decay a tree grew 
up within the circle of one of the iron tires of its wheels. This 
tree, a beech, was two feet in diameter in 1900, and expert 
woodsmen said it could not be less than one hundred years 
old at that time. As the wheel could not fall off the gun- 
carriage till after decay had set in, it is virtually certain that 
this cannon — and probably its mate, only a few miles away — 
was abandoned not only before 1812 but before 1800. In 
other words, these cannon were left in the woods long before 
the so-called ''Old Military Road" w^as opened, and their 
being found near it is mere coincidence. The only plausible 
explanation of their presence in the heart of the woods seems 
to be the following : 

In 1776, at the outbreak of the Revolution, Sir John John- 
son, son of Sir William, was forced to flee from his ancestral 
home near Johnstown with a number of his Tory friends and 
followers. They made their way through the heart of the 
Adirondacks to Montreal.^ They had every reason to believe 
that they would be followed and attacked. They had, there- 
fore, every reason to carry with them as many defensive 
weapons as they could. There were two brass field-pieces 
that guarded the gates of Johnson Hall. They disappeared 
at this time. The records do not state that Sir John carried 
them wdth him, but this now seems highly probable. It was, 
at all events, possible. There was snow on the ground, for the 
party traveled on snow-shoes. It would have been feasible, 
therefore, to drag the cannon along on sleds. At Raquette 
Lake the party was overtaken by the spring thaw. They dis- 
carded their snow-shoes and began building birch-bark canoes 
for further progress by water. 

This would, of course, necessitate the abandonment of the 
cannon at that point, and how they came to be found much 

1 See Chap. VI, under "Raquette." 



126 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

farther north can only be conjecture and anybody's guess. 
An unsuccessful attempt to save them may have been made at 
a later date. Be that as it may, there is much circumstantial 
evidence to connect these cannon with those that stood in 
front of Johnson Hall, and their presence in the woods can be 
accounted for by no more plausible theory. 

The next road to be authorized and begun was the northerly 
one from North West Bay (now Westport), on Lake Cham- 
plain, to Hopkinton in St. Lawrence County. This became 
the most important and best-kno^^^l road of the three under 
consideration. It began to feed the most rapidly growing set- 
tlements, and long stretches of it have been improved and are 
in use to-day. 

It ran, and still runs, through the village of Saranac Lake, 
and one of the outlying streets, near Highland Park, is called 
**Old Military Road." This name was formerly applied to 
the entire highway, and the usual explanation was offered — 
that it was built by the soldiers in 1812. But here, as in the 
case of the two other roads, it can be shown that the supposi- 
tion of military genesis is pure fable. 

The original course of this road was as follows : 

Starting at North West Bay, or Westport, it ran through 
ElizabethtowTi to North Elba, past John Brown's farm to Ray 
Brook. From there it followed the ''upper road" to Saranac 
Lake, entered *'the pines" by John Benham's old cabin, and 
emerged by the Baker Bridge. Here it crossed the original 
wooden bridge, turned around the north end of the first Ensine 
Miller house, and climbed the hill to Highland Park, coming 
into it near Mrs. Nichols's property. It then followed, not 
exactly but in a general direction, the Park Avenue of to-day, 
finally merging with it at a spot still traceable. This is near 
the sanatorium gate and the houses owned by Dr. Brown and 
Mrs. Wicker. 

Entering the sanatorium grounds the old road followed 
about the course of the present one, but turned at the north 
comer of the Administration Building and climbed the hill 
past Camp Liberty, and then skirted the edge of the woods 
that border the Smith pasture. 

At the two last-named places the traces of an old road are 



OLD MILITARY ROADS 127 

plainly visible. From the Smith woods the road emerged 
near the Kelleyville school-house, and then followed approxi- 
mately the present road to Peck's Comers, and so on to Dick 
Finnegan's. Here it left the present Harrietstown road, but 
joined it again at the brook in the hollow. Here again the 
old road left the present one and turned to the right by Will 
Manning's bam. Again the two joined for a little way, then 
diverged, and finally reunited at Two Bridge Brook. From 
there on the old road took virtually the course of the present 
"stone road" through West Harrietstown, passing the Noke's 
settlement, and so on toward Paul Smith's. Near where the 
church of St. John's in the Wilderness now stands and where 
Levi Rice the pioneer settler once lived, the road turned north 
and twisted around Barnum Pond up to McCollum's and then 
on to Sam Meacham's old place to the west of Meacham Lake. 
From here the road turned northwesterly, following in gen- 
eral direction the East Branch of the St. Regis River into St. 
Lawrence County. 

Reverting now to the theory of military genesis, there are 
no records in the War OflSce, nor in the general literature of 
1812 to support it. It is completely refuted, moreover, by the 
legislative acts referring to the road. 

The first was passed April 5, 1810. It read: *' An Act to 
establish and improve a road from North West Bay on Lake 
Champlain, to Hopkinton in the County of St. Lawrence." 

The text of the act says that the new road is '^to communi- 
cate with the road leading through the town of Keene and 
other towns in the coutny of Essex to North West Bay on 
Lake Champlain." 

As the Town of North Elba had not been divided from the 
Town of Keene in 1810, the reference is to an existing road 
from Westport through North Elba, which had been opened 
two or three years earlier at private expense. That this road 
already extended as far as Saranac Lake village (which lies 
partly in North Elba) is shown by a further reference in the 
act, which speaks of the bridge across the Saranac River (the 
Baker Bridge) having been carried away by a flood, and ''the 
said road thereby, and by the falling in of trees and want of 
repairs, hath become impassable for horses and carriages." 



128 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

This shows that the eastern part of the road had been 
opened before 1810. An act passed June 19, 1812, shows pre- 
vious appropriations to "have been found entirely inadequate 
to open and improve" the road. It was not, therefore, used, 
nor to any extent usable, in 1812. Finally, on April 17, 1816, 
an act was passed to ''complete" the road, and one set of com- 
missioners was appointed to complete the west end, and an- 
other the east end. The evidence of all the acts shows clearly 
that the road was not built in 1812, nor by the soldiers. It 
was begun about four years before the war, and finished about 
four years after. Its claim to being a military road, there- 
fore, becomes purely legendary. Even the earliest map (John 
H. Eddy, 1818) labels it ''State Road North West Bay to 
Hopkinton." No early map or history gives it a military 
designation. 

Yet there is no doubt that it was locally known as the ' ' Old 
Military Road," and that this name not only has clung to it 
but has gradually replaced its lawful title of "North West 
Bay Road." This may have come about, I am inclined to 
believe, through the following circumstances : 

A glance at the map of Grants and Patents will show that 
the North West Bay Road, a few miles west of Westport, 
entered and crossed the Old Military Tract. This tract has 
been fully described in a preceding chapter. It need only 
be recalled here that it was a land feature of great prominence 
in its day. Its object was impressed on men's minds, and its 
name was frequently on their lips. It is not at all improbable, 
therefore, that the first road to be broken through it was 
spoken of as the "Old Military Tract Road." Nor is it im- 
probable that the tendency to abbreviation soon asserted 
itself, and that the word "tract" was gradually dropped from 
the title. This would pass the name "Old Military Road" 
down to a second generation that knew nothing of its possible 
origin, and referred it to a mere association of ideas. I can- 
not say that this explanation is correct, for I have been unable 
to confirai it. I can only claim that it has plausibility, where 
the 1812-soldier theory has none. Even if correct, it helps us 
out with this road only, and throws no light on how the other 
two came to be called "Old Military Roads." 



OLD MILITARY EOADS 129 

"We now come to the last of these — the one from Fish House 
to Russell. 

Fish House was the summer home of Sir William Johnson, 
on the Sacondaga River, a few miles north of Johnstown, in 
Fulton County. From here the road passed northwesterly 
into Hamilton County. It skirted the north shore of Lake 
Pleasant and then passed the south shore of Raquette Lake. 
From there it continued to the outlet of Albany Lake, and then 
crossed the northeast corner of Herkimer into St. Lawrence 
County, striking the St. Lawrence Turnpike about ten miles 
below Russell. 

The first part of this road, from Fish House to Raquette 
Lake, followed the old Indian trail into the wilderness, and is 
the one used by Sir John Johnson in his retreat. Albany 
Lake (named after the road, which was also known as the 
Albany Road) is now Nehasane Lake, on Dr. Webb's great 
preserve. 

The original act authorizing this road was passed June 19, 
1812, for "opening and making a road between the City of 
Albany and the river St. Lawrence." This is how the road 
came to be called the Albany Road. It really started at Al- 
bany, for a primitive road as far as Fish House already ex- 
isted. It reached the St. Lawrence Turnpike in 1815, but was 
not completed to the St. Lawrence River till later. 

This St. Lawrence Turnpike was an early road running 
across St. Lawrence County from the Oswegatchie River, 
through Russell, to Hopkinton. It was used in some of the 
mihtary movements of 1812, and acquired the title of a mili- 
tary road. It may be that our Adirondack roads, by connect- 
ing with it, were considered entitled to share its martial glory. 
However this military legend arose, it has certainly fattened 
on tradition, and the remaining traces of *'01d Military roads, 
built by the soldiers in 1812," are pointed out in various sec- 
tions of the mountains. Sometimes, mere loops and branches 
of the main highways are so designated. 

The three roads under discussion were, of course, most 
primitive affairs. They were little more than what the lum- 
bermen call wood roads to-day — trails along which the trees 
have been cut down, with here and there a little filling in and 



130 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

grading. They were passable enough in winter, but impass- 
able in the spring, and impossible in the summer. Hough, in 
his *' History of St. Lawrence County," speaks of the two 
roads to Russell as falling rapidly into decay and disuse, and 
being virtually abandoned at an early date. This is borne 
out by Dr. Todd's book on Long Lake. He evidently saw no 
signs of the Old Military Road, for he speaks of the nearest 
road stopping six miles short of the settlement. This was a 
new road from Lake Champlain to Carthage, authorized by 
the Legislature in 1841. The only Old Military Road to be 
kept up and improved for any considerable length of time was 
the North West Bay road. 



CHAPTER XL 
ADIRONDACK RAILROADS 

IT is somewhat surprising to find that several of the earli- 
est schemes for building railroads in this State contem- 
plated lines running into or through the Adirondacks. They 
were usually allied with navigation projects that planned to 
connect the larger lakes and rivers into a continuous water- 
way through the mountains. 

The first railroad in the State was chartered in 1826. The 
first primitive train was run from Albany to Schenectady in 
1831. By 1845 there were only about 700 miles of railway in 
operation, and yet by this time several schemes for Adiron- 
dack lines were on foot. 

The earliest one traces back to 1834 and the passage of 
"An act to incorporate the Manheim and Salisbury Rail- 
Road." In 1837 the name of this proposed road was changed 
to "The Mohawk and St. Lawrence Railroad and Navigation 
Company," by an act authorizing the construction of a rail- 
way and the making of a canal and slack-water navigation 
from the Erie Canal in the town of Danube or Little Falls, in 
the county of Herkimer, to the river St. Lawrence, in the 
county of St. Lawrence." 

In 1838 a pamphlet and map were published,* showing the 
proposed course of the railway, but not of the water route. 
The road was to start at Little Falls, run northeasterly along 
the East Canada Creek to the west shore of Piseco Lake, and 
thence northerly to the south end of Raquette Lake. This 
road never got beyond the paper stage. 

I have before me another pamphlet,^ being the report of a 
survey in 1838 for a railway from Ogdensburg to Lake Cham- 
plain. Its sole interest here lies in the fact that two routes 

1 Papers and Documents relative to the Mohawk and St. Latorence R. R. and 
Navigation Co. J. Munsell, Albany. 1838. 

2 Assembly Document No. 133, Janvnry 30, 1839. 

1.31 



132 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

were suggested for the road, and that the southern one, with 
Port Kent as a terminus, would have passed through the 
northeastern comer of the woods. The other one was to run 
to Plattsburg, without touching the Adirondacks. The whole 
project fell through at the time. It was revived in 1845, how- 
ever, and the original survey was used for the Northern Rail- 
road, which was built between Ogdensburg and Malone. 

In 1846 an act was passed 'Ho provide for the construction 
of a railroad and slackwater navigation from or near Port 
Kent, in Lake Champlain, to Boonville in Oneida County." 

This was to be another combination rail and water route 
through the heart of the mountains. The railway was to 
strike the Saranac River near McClenathan Falls (now Frank- 
lin Falls). Thence progress was to be ''by river, canal, and 
lake navigation" through the Saranac River and Lakes, the 
Raquette River, Long Lake, "Crochet and Racket" lakes,' and 
so on out to Boonville. The whole scheme was elaborately 
outlmed and advertised, but nothing ever came of it. This 
was the project so hopefully and alluringly referred to by 
Amos Dean in his pamphlet on the prospects of Long Lake 
real estate.^ He was, indeed, one of the commissioners ap- 
pointed to promote the undertaking, and he naturally did all 
he could to further a scheme from which he would receive much 
benefit. But his efforts were in vain. 

WHITEHALL AND PLATTSBUHG RAILROAD 

This was the first road to come near the "blue line" and to 
play an important part in starting people across it. It was a 
spur of only twenty miles from Plattsburg to Point of Rocks 
or Ausable River Station. It began operations in 1868, and in 
1874 was extended a few miles farther to Ausable Forks, be- 
yond which point it never went. 

A road from Plattsburg to Whitehall was agitated at an 
early date, but its building became the storm-center of a once 
notorious political struggle in which the leading citizens of 
Plattsburg took a prominent part. The details do not belong 
here, but they will be found in Kurd's "History of Clinton 
and Franklin Counties," Philadelphia, 1880. 

1 See Chap. XXXIV, "Long Lake." 



ADIRONDACK RAILROADS 133 

THE ADIRONDACK EAILROAD 

This was the second road to come near the "blue line." It 
was intended to cross it and penetrate the very heart of the 
wilderness, but this dream was never realized. It became, 
however, a large feeder of the region and an important factor 
in its development. 

Dr. Thomas C. Durant, the builder and president of the 
road, helped it greatly by those allied facilities of interior 
transportation which have been more fully outlined in Chap- 
ter XXXVI. His son Mr. William West Durant, who became 
president and general manager of the road after his father's 
death in 1885, has kindly placed at my disposal a number of 
old documents, pamphlets, and maps bearing on its early 
history. 

It traces back to an act of 1848, * ' incorporating the Sacketts 
Harbor and Saratoga Railroad Company." Prominent men 
from different parts of the country were interested in the in- 
corporation. In 1850 and 1851 extensions of time for building 
the road were granted, and in 1853 a charter with greatly 
increased rights and privileges was secured. The previous 
year a chief engineer A. F. Edwards had been appointed and 
instructed to make a survey. The result was embodied in a 
thick pamphlet of one hundred and ten pages, which was 
printed in October, 1853. 

This report, besides exhaustive statistics, contains a glow- 
ing account of the mountainous region the road is intended to 
traverse. Professor Emmons and Professor Benedict are 
quoted at length, and even Dr. Todd is introduced as prophet, 
with his forecast of a possible million of ''virtuous, industri- 
ous, and Christian population" for the central Adirondacks. 
The pamphlet admits that among the pioneer settlers there is 
some disappointment and discontent, but it is attributed to 
the very lack of those transportation facilities which the new 
railway will provide. 

Two routes for it were surveyed and considered. One fol- 
lowed the valley of the Sacondaga, passing south of Piseco 
Lake into the valley of the Black River, and so to the shore of 
Lake Ontario. This was called the southern route. 



134 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

The other was to strike the valley of the Hudson at Jessup's 
Landing, branch off to the southern end of Raquette Lake, and 
then follow the Beaver or Moose River to the valley of the 
Black. This was called the northern route. It was favored 
from the first, and was finally the one on which a beginning 
was made. 

By the act of 1853 the company had secured an option on 
250,000 acres of Adirondack State lands at five cents an acre. 
An equal amount was to be donated by private owners on cer- 
tain conditions. Then the usual trouble began. Some wanted 
the southern route adopted; others the northern. The com- 
pany, moreover, by an oversight, had worded its articles of 
association so as to conflict with the terms of its charter. 
The Legislature was appealed to. After considerable wran- 
gling it gave the desired relief, but opposition to the road and 
antagonistic w4re-pulling had developed. The public grad- 
ually lost both interest and confidence in the enterprise. 
After some thirty miles of the right of way had been graded, 
the company found itself face to face with a financial crisis, 
and further operations were suspended. 

Before long, however, efforts were made to renew interest 
in the road and reestablish its credit. To this end it was evi- 
dently deemed advisable to change its name to the ''Lake 
Ontario and Hudson River Railroad Company." This was 
done in 1857, by an act securing to the new company all the 
rights and privileges of the old. 

Home capital was not lured by the new name, however, and 
an appeal to English investors was made, one of whom was 
the eminent Thomas Brassy. He and his friends showed in- 
terest, and sent over two experts to examine the property and 
the proposition. This commission spent several months in- 
vestigating, and then handed in a lengthy and highly favorable 
report. On the strength of this the Englishmen opened nego- 
tiations to purchase, but these were interrupted and abandoned 
on account of the breaking out of the Civil War. 

Shortly before this, for some reason that does not clearly 
appear, the company had again changed its name to "The 
Adirondac Estate and Railroad Company," by an act of Feb- 
mary 18, 1860. But after the -vvithdrawal of the English capi- 



ADIRONDACK RAILROADS 135 

talists, its plight was hopeless. Its affairs were wound up by 
the courts, and the actual property transferred, through a re- 
ceiver, to the ownership of Hon. Albert N. Cheney and his 
associates. 

This gentleman offered the road to some New York capital- 
ists, among whom were Dr. Thomas C. Durant and others 
identified with the building of the Union Pacific. Dr. Durant 
became enthusiastic over the possibilities in the Adirondack 
property, and secured control of it. He reorganized it under 
a special act of April 27, 1863, as the "Adirondack Company." 
The new charter was very broad and conferred the privileges 
of a land, railroad, mining, and manufacturing company on 
the new organization. Its lands, moreover, up to 1,000,000 
acres w^ere declared free from State taxes till the year 1883. 
An amendment to the charter, passed in 1885, gave the rail- 
road the option of making its terminus on Lake Ontario or 
the St. Lawrence River. 

The latter was finally chosen, and I have before me a map, 
published in 1869, showing the proposed route of the road 
from Saratoga through the heart of the mountains to Ogdens- 
burg. After leaving North Creek, it was to pass just north of 
Long Lake and follow the valley of the Raquette River to the 
foot of Tupper Lake ; thence along the Grasse River to Canton 
and Ogdensburg. This was the elaborate plan, but the road 
was never built beyond the present terminus, North Creek. 
The progress to that point was as follows : 



Total: 



Built 




December 1, 1S65 


25 miles 


31, 1868 


12 " 


23, 1869 


12 " 


31, 1870 


11 " 


Saratoga to North Creek, 


60 miles 


Operated 




1868 Saratoga to Hadley 


22 miles 


1869 " " Thurman 


36 " 


1870 " " The Glen 


44 " 


1871 " " North Creek 


60 " 



The Adirondack Company owned some 650,000 acres of 
Adirondack land, and much of it— all of Township 47 and 



136 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

much of Township 50, Totten and Crossfield Purchase — was 
heavily wooded with the best pine timber. It had also ac- 
quired, after lengthy negotiations, the entire estate of the 
Mclntyre Iron Company, including mines and works, and the 
value of this acquisition is naturally stressed in its advertising 
literature.^ The name of the road was changed for the last 
time, in 1883, to the ''Adirondack Railway Company." In 
1889, Mr. William West Durant, president and owner of the 
road, sold it to the Delaware and Hudson Company. Its 
lands were gradually disposed of to corporations and private 
owners. 

THE CHATEAUGAY RAILROAD 

The first railroad to cross the "blue line" and run into the 
mountains was the Chateaugay Railroad from Plattsburg to 
Saranac Lake, and the first train between these two points was 
run on December 5, 1887. 

The origin of this road dates back to 1878, when an act was 
passed ''authorizing the construction and management of a 
railroad from Lake Champlain to Dannemora prison." The 
building of this line was put into the hands of the Superin- 
tendent of State Prisons. It was completed in 1879, and will 
be found on maps of the period as the "Dannemora Rail- 
road." 

A little later Smith M. Weed of Plattsburg and others who 
owned valuable ore beds near the Chateaugay Lakes, wanted 
a railway outlet for their product. They decided to lay a 
track from Lyon Mountain to Dannemora, and connect with 
the road already running to that place. For this purpose the 
Chateaugay Railroad Company was organized in May, 1879, 
and a lease of the Dannemora Railroad secured from the 
State. On December 17, 1879, the first regular train ran over 
the entire line, and on December 18th the first shipment of ore 
reached Plattsburg. 

1 One of the prime objects of the original Sacketts Harbor and Saratoga Rail- 
road was to connect with the Adirondack Iron Works. In 1854 it had surveyed 
and located its line to the Lower Works, and merely waited for funds in order to 
build it. The failure of the railroad to make this long-promised connection was 
undoubtedly an important contributory cause in the final abandonment of the 
Iron Works. See Chap. XIV. 



ADIRONDACK RAILROADS 137 

The Chateaugay Railroad was gradually extended from 
Lyon Mountain to Standish, then to Loon Lake, and finally to 
Saranac Lake in 1887. The first president of the road was 
Thomas Dickson, who was at the time president of the Dela- 
ware & Hudson Canal Company. On January 1, 1903, the 
Delaware & Hudson Railroad bought the Chateaugay, and 
broad-gaged it. 

In 1893, the Saranac Lake and Lake Placid Road was built, 
and operated between those two places — a distance of only ten 
miles, for which a charge of ten cents a mile was made. This, 
like the Chateaugay, was a narrow-gage road, but three rails 
were laid, so that broad-gage cars arriving at Saranac Lake 
could be hauled to Lake Placid. This road was also taken 
over by the Delaware & Hudson in 1903, when it acquired the 
Chateaugay. 

hurd's road 

The next railroad to pass over the ''blue line" and pene- 
trate the mountains was built in patches by a lumber operator 
by the name of John Hurd. The road was entirely in Frank- 
lin County, winding from north to south down its western 
side, and crossing the **blue line" about ten miles below Santa 
Clara, at a little place known as ' ' LeBoeuf 's, " where there was 
a mill and a few lumber shanties. 

About 1882 John Hurd, Peter Macfarlane, and a Mr. Hotch- 
kiss, bought 60,000 acres of land in Townhips 10, 11, 14, and 
17, Franklin County, and the mills at St. Regis Falls. From 
this place they soon began building a railway to Moira, seven- 
teen miles to the north. Here connections were made with 
the Northern Railroad (now the Rutland) running from Og- 
densburg to Malone. 

After this spur was completed Hurd bought his partners 
out and did his further railroad-building entirely alone. He 
secured a charter for the "Northern Adirondack Extension 
Company," and then proceeded to lay twenty miles of track 
to the south of St. Regis Falls, first to Santa Clara and then 
to another lumber hamlet near Buck Mountain, called Bran- 
don. Both of these diminutive and obscure places were most 
unexpectedly thrust into the lime-light of public attention at 



138 A HISTOKY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

a later date, and the story of their notoriety is told in the next 
chapter. 

The extension of the road to Brandon was made in 1886. 
Then Hurd decided to carry it twenty-two miles farther south 
to a point near the shores of Tupper Lake. This last link was 
completed in 1889, making an entire length of sixty miles. Its 
name was changed to the "Northern and Adirondack Rail- 
road," but it was generally spoken of as ''Kurd's Road." It 
did a lively business but not a profitable one. The owner, 
who had many other irons in the fire, all hastily and precari- 
ously financed, soon found himself in trouble and his railway 
in the hands of a receiver. The building of Webb's road un- 
doubtedly hastened the collapse of Hurd's. It was sold to a 
private syndicate in 1895, and the name was changed again 
to the ''Northern New York Railroad." 

This syndicate gradually interested some big New York 
capitalists, and they decided to extend the road across the 
Canadian line as far as Ottawa. This caused the final chang- 
ing of the name to the one it now bears — "The New York 
and Ottawa Railroad." A through service over the line was 
established in the autumn of 1900. It would have been com- 
pleted sooner but for the spectacular collapse, in 1898, of the 
million-dollar bridge the company had just finished building 
over the St. Lawrence at Cornwall. 

The last chapter in the history of this road took place at 
St. Regis Falls on December 22, 1906, when it passed under a 
bondholders' foreclosure sale to the New York Central, and 
became a part of that great system. 

"Uncle John Hurd," as he was popularly called, the builder 
of a fantastic railroad, the overnight creator of mushroom 
mills and hamlets, the reckless speculator in lumber lands and 
deals, was naturally a conspicuous and much-talked-of figure 
in his brief day of glory. He came from Bridgeport, Conn., 
and returned there to die in comparative poverty after having 
looped the loop of spectacular success as an Adirondack 
lumber-king. 

He was a man of plunging, bulldog enterprise, with a bluff- 
ing, blustering knack of controlling hired men and getting 
things done. He built his railway by gradually extending it 



ADIRONDACK RAILROADS 139 

to nowhere in particular and then creating a semblance of 
somewhere. One of these sudden somewheres was Santa 
Clara, wliich he named after his wife, and where he made his 
residence. Besides the inevitable mill and shanties for the 
workmen, he built a community store, where all of his em- 
ployees were forced to trade, and where, it is said, he man- 
aged to diminish by credit the unpaid wages they had earned. 
He also erected an assembly hall which was used for many 
incidental purposes, and regularly as a school and church. 
Like many a greater magnate who could be aggressively 
worldly on week-days, Hurd was inclined to be aggressively 
religious on Sundays. He often entered the pulpit as a lay 
reader, and at one time he ran a ' ' Sunday School and Church 
train" over part of his road. He also maintained a resident 
clergyman in his home at Santa Clara for the benefit of the 
settlement. He found for the position a young man whose 
health had broken down and who was eager to come to the 
mountains in consequence. That young man was Walter H. 
Larom, now Archdeacon Larom of Saranac Lake, where for 
many years he was rector of St. Luke's Church. 

The one large and important place that Hurd started was 
the village of Tupper Lake. When it became the terminus of 
his railway there was notliing there but a cow pasture and 
clearing belonging to old Bill McLaughlin, the pioneer set- 
tler. Then Hurd built an enormous mill, and the place began 
to grow. It grew with surprising rapidity, but as a lumber- 
ing-center only. Its structures were crude and ugly, and its 
inhabitants were tough and lawless. It had all the outward 
appearance and inner attributes of a western frontier town. 
Then, on July 30, 1899, it was almost completely wiped out by 
fire. This proved really a blessing in disguise, for on the site 
of the old village there soon rose a far more sightly, more 
cleanly, more orderly, and more prosperous one. It is still, 
however, purely a commercial and manufacturing center — the 
only one of any size in the Adirondacks. Such large concerns 
as the Santa Clara Lumber Co., the A. Sherman Lumber Co., 
the Norwood Manufacturing Co., and the International Paper 
Co. have mills there, and there are others near by at Pierce- 
field, at Childwold, and at Conifer. 



140 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

When Hurd named this place Tupper Lake, he showed true 
Adirondack aptitude for selecting a misnomer. The village is 
two miles from the lake whose name it bears, and lies on an 
artificial body of water called Raquette Pond. The usual in- 
ternal complications have also developed. The incorporated 
village of Tupper Lake includes a detached settlement on the 
other side of Raquette Pond. Tliis is called "Faust" in the 
post-office directory, and is referred to as "Tupper Lake Junc- 
tion" in railroad folders. 

ADIRONDACK AND ST. LAWRENCE RAILROAD 

This was the first and only railroad to run through the 
mountains, and was built by Dr. W. Seward Webb, a son-in- 
law of William H. Vanderbilt. While buying lands for his 
vast Nehasane Park Preserve, Dr. Webb was impressed by the 
need and possibiHties of a railway running north and south 
through the heart of the Adirondacks. If it connected with 
the existing roads at Herkimer in the south, and Malone in the 
north, it would not only tap the whole length of the mountains, 
but would open a new route from New York to Montreal. 

He laid his scheme before the New York Central people, 
and tried to induce them to build such a road. They de- 
murred, however, so he decided to build it himself. He ap- 
plied to the State for a grant of the right of way, but this was 
refused. Nothing daunted, he began to buy the right of way 
himself. Work on the road-bed was begun in 1890. The 
upper end of the road — from Malone to Lake Clear, and the 
spur to Saranac Lake — was completed in 1892. On July 1st 
of that year the first train ran over this section, and all traffic 
was handled by this route until the southern connection with 
Herkimer was completed soon after. The following year, 
1893, the New York Central bought the road and began to 
operate it as the Adirondack Division of their main line. 
They later built a spur from Fulton Chain station to Old 
Forge.^ 

Webb's venture was at first derided as a rich man's fool- 

1 In 1900 a few wealthy men built the Raquette Lake Railroad. It ran from 
the main line at Clearwater, now Carter, to the very shore of the lake, near 
Brown's Tract Inlet. For its size this little road undoubtedly had the wealthiest 



ADIRONDACK RAILROADS 141 

ishness. It was thought that his main object was to have a 
railway into his own preserve, and it was dubbed ''Webb's 
Golden Chariot Route." The doctor had the last laugh, how- 
ever, when the New York Central became eager to buy the 
road. It has since proved a link of ever increasing strategic 
value in their system. 

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF RAILROADS 

Opened 

WlIITEnALI, AND PlATTSBURO 

Plattsburf? to Point of Rocks, 20 miles 1868 

Extended to Ausable Forks 1874 

First road to come near the 
"blue line" from the north. 

Adirondack Railroad 
Saratoga to North Creek, 60 miles 1571 

First road to come near the 
"blue line'' from the south. 

Chateauoay Railroad 

Plattsburg to Saranac Lake, 70 miles - 1^87 

Extended to Lake Placid, 1 miles 1893 

First road to cross the 

"blue line" and enter mountains. 

Hlt?d's Road (N. Y. and Ottawa R. R) 
Moira to Tupper Lake, 60 miles 1889 

Second road to cross "blue line." 
Adirondack and St. La.tvrence R. R. 

isnz 

First and only road through the mountains. 

board of directors in the country. Amonjj them were J. Pierpont Morgan, W. 
Soward Webb, Collis P. Huntington, Chauncey JI. Depew, William C. Whitney, 
Harrj Payne Whitney, and William West PuraJit. 



CHAPTER XLI 
SANTA CLARA AND BRANDON IN THE LIME-LIGHT 

SANTA CLARA, as has been told, was a shantied creation 
of Hurd and his railroad. Besides his residence, he es- 
tablished his machine-shops there, and built two mills. For a 
while, therefore, it was a lively, bustling little place, but after 
Kurd's failure it relapsed toward the nothingness from which 
it sprang. The mills fell into disuse and were dismantled, 
and in 1915 fire destroyed the machine-shops and other build- 
ings that were never replaced. 

In 1903 the name of the little hamlet was suddenly thrust 
into head-line notoriety through a sensational murder that 
occurred near it. Not far away, and in the Town of the same 
name, lay a private park of 7,000 acres, belonging to Orlando 
P. Dexter. Near the center of the estate was a body of water 
called Dexter Lake, and on its shores was a rather ornate and 
fantastical residence modeled after the Albrecht Diirer house 
in Niiremberg. Here the eccentric owner spent much of his 
time. 

He was a bachelor and forty years of age at the time of his 
death. He was a graduate of Yale and a lawyer by profes- 
sion. Having large means, however, he retired from active 
practice and devoted himself to the intellectual pursuits of his- 
tory, genealogy, and the higher mathematics. Absorbed in 
these studies, for which he had marked aptitude, he became 
more and more of a recluse in his habits, and showed an in- 
creasing moroseness of disposition and irascibility of temper. 
His relations with his Adirondack neighbors developed a bar-, 
vest of unusually bitter animosity. He bought his lar^ 
estate by a process of gradual acquisition. When he ha< 
secured all the land he wanted, he fenced it in, ''posted" it 
placed guards upon it, and bid all men keep off it. These per^ 
fectly legal acts appear to have been the signal for a persistenl 
campaign of lawlessness among his neighbors. They huntc 

142 



SANTA CLAEA AND BRANDON 143 

and fished, and even cut wood on his preserve, with a reckless 
defiance of consequences that could have been prompted only 
by malice and hatred. He sought such relief and redress only 
as the law afforded, but then applied it, it is said, to the last 
limit of the letter and in a spirit of relentless retaliation. 
Under such conditions, such a course, however justified, was 
bound to rouse resentment to the danger point. Personal 
violence was finally threatened in a series of anonymous let- 
ters, but Mr. Dexter was a fearless man and paid no attention 
to them. 

On the afternoon of September 19, 1903, he started to drive, 
as he often did, to the near-by post-office at Santa Clara for 
his mail. He drove alone, but was followed by one of his 
employees. He had gone but a quarter of a mile on the 
lonely, winding road that led to the little village, when some 
one fired a shot from ambush as he passed. He fell from his 
wagon, and was found a few moments later lying dead in the 
road. 

His aged father Henry Dexter, the millionaire founder of 
the American News Company, was at once notified of the mur- 
der. After the first shock, he said he would devote his life and 
all his wealth, if necessary, to ferreting out his son's assassin. 
But all his efforts and all his wealth failed to unearth the cul- 
prit. Besides detectives, he had trained bloodhounds carried 
to the spot, and offered rewards that would have made a poor 
man rich for life. But they unloosed no ton.gue, although it 
was said that even children knew the murderer's name. Be 
that as it may, it has remained sealed forever in a strangely 
impregnable conspiracy of silence. 

THE LAMORA-ROCKEFELLER FEUD 

Santa Clara lies outside the *'blue line." Brandon lies 
within it, and about twenty miles south of Santa Clara. 
When Hurd ran his road to Brandon in 1886, there was al- 
ready a settlement there. It had been built up as a lumber 
hamlet by Patrick A. Ducey, a wealthy lumborman from 
Michigan^ who came to the place about 1881. He bought some 
30,000 of the surrounding acres, put up the best-equipped mill 
these woods had ever seen, and began feeding it about 125,000 



144 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

feet of lumber a day. He was the first, it is said, to fell trees 
in the Adirondacks by sawing instead of chopping. He was 
altogether a hustling, far-sighted, shrewd-witted business 
man — an Irishman of the best type, jovial, big-heartod, and 
honest. Many of his workmen wished to buy lots from him 
and build in Brandon, but he always advised them not to. He 
told them frankly that the land in the flat and barren village 
would be worthless the moment he finished lumbering and 
moved away. This happened around 1890. He carried on 
extensive and successful operations in other parts of the coun- 
try for a while, and finally died in Detroit, Mich., in 1903. 

Before leaving the Adirondacks he tried to induce Paul 
Smith to buy his holdings. He offered them at $1.50 an acre, 
and was more than willing to take a long-time note in payment. 
It was a rare opportunity for Paul, for these lands adjoined 
his own, but he felt land-poor at the time and let the chance 
slip, much to his subsequent regret. 

A little later Mr. William Rockefeller appeared upon the 
scene, looking for a few acres on which to build a quiet home 
in the woods. He heard of the Pat Ducey tract and even- 
tually bought it. About three miles south of Brandon is a 
charming lake called Bay Pond. Here Mr. Rockefeller de- 
cided to build. It seemed a very beautiful, quiet, and secluded 
spot. And it was. Only there turned out to be a hornets '- 
nest very near it — Brandon. 

The remnant of this little village consisted at the time of 
the foolish few who had failed to take Pat Ducey 's advice 
about not buying his land. Having bought, and being unable 
to sell, they remained residents of a necropolis. There were 
a couple of churches, a small hotel, and about fifteen families 
left in the place. These people awoke one morning to find 
themselves in a preserve and a dilemma. Rockefeller had 
bought the land around and in between their houses, and even 
claimed control of the road that led to them. The consequence 
was that they could not step off their own land without step- 
ping on his, and he had made all the surrounding stumps elo- 
quent with his disapprobation of trespassing. Those who 
walked could not fail to read. 

The situation was both awkward and irritating, but Mr. 




X o 



I 



SANTA CLARA AND BRANDON 145 

Rockefeller had no intention of leaving it so. He planned to 
pour oil upon the troubled waters. He offered to buy up 
Brandon — vicariously, of course. His agents made offers 
that were unquestionably liberal. Most were accepted with 
alacrity, but some householders bickered and delayed, and a 
few refused to sell at all. This minority took the pose of dis- 
daining tainted money. The owners of the Presbyterian 
Church were among this number. Rather than sell to Mr. 
Rockefeller, they pulled down their building, shipped it to 
Tupper Lake, and re-erected it there — which amounted to 
doing at their owni expense what Mr. Rockefeller was willing 
to do at his. All he wanted was to get rid of the church. 

A crisis in the affairs of any community usually develops 
an unguessed leader. Brandon was no exception to the rule. 
What may be called the anti-park faction crystallized around 
the dictatorship of one Oliver Lamora. He was an old 
French-Canadian, poor and ignorant, but stubborn and fear- 
less. He refused to sell at any but his own exorbitant figure, 
and he announced his intention of hunting and fishing where 
he had always hunted and fished. He was as good as his 
word, moreover. He persisted in trespassing, and was as 
persistently arrested and sued. He showed such obstinacy 
that every possible form of legal procedure and every petty 
annoyance of the law was used in retaliation. Action was 
brought in distant parts of the county, and the old man was 
put to the trouble and expense of long journeys. But his 
neighbors raised money to help him out, and a firm of lawyers 
offered to defend him free of charge. The lower courts non- 
suited his case, but it was finally won on appeal, and Mr. 
Rockefeller was awarded eighteen cents in damages and a 
temporary fishing-injunction against Lamora. 

Meanwhile another suit had boon brought, and was pending, 
under the Private Park Law. Here the final decision was of 
far greater importance. Lamora 's trespassing was defended 
on the plea that he had a right to fish in any waters stocked 
by the State. This contention was overruled and the princi- 
ple established that preserve owners enjoyed an absolute right 
of exclusion over the waters as well as the lands in their 
domains. The decision was hailed with delight by the big 



146 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

landowners, and with disgust by the little ones, and temporar- 
ily it only served to embitter the class feeling between the two. 

Of course the trouble and litigation between a prominently 
rich man and an obscurely poor one was quickly noised abroad 
and exploited by the press. The names of Brandon and La- 
mora became as familiar to the reading public as Rockefeller's 
own. The leading papers and the social-justice magazines 
sent special correspondents to Brandon, and long, illustrated 
articles were the result. Lamora was interviewed and photo- 
graphed, and became the newspaper idol of the multitude. 
His pictures alone awakened sympathy. He was a tall and 
erect old fellow, with snow-white hair and beard, and was 
usually pictured standing on the steps of his hjimble home, 
his head thrown back, gazing defiantly over the marshes of 
Brandon toward the wooded seat of oppression at Bay Pond. 
In his hand he held a fishing-rod, which smybolized for many 
the struggle of righteous poverty against unrighteous wealth. 
As a matter of fact, of course, it merely symbolized foolish 
stubbornness and reckless poaching. 

The papers on the whole tried to present the facts im- 
partially, but the pubUc soon forgot these and the causes of 
the quarrel in the protracted contest, that ensued. The man 
who was right lost much public sympathy merely because he 
was rich; and the man who was wrong gained much public 
sympathy merely because he was poor. Locally, of course, 
the feeling against Mr. Rockefeller was bitter and kept grow- 
ing more and more intense. 

Lamora was arrested for the first time in 1902. In 1903 
the Dexter murder occurred and heartened the malcontents in 
Brandon to throw off the yoke of oppression in the same law- 
less manner as Santa Clara had done. Mr. Rockefeller be- 
gan to receive anonymous letters threatening his life. It is 
not believed that Lamora had any hand in these, nor was he 
ever accused of menacing his arch-enemy with personal viol- 
ence. But, Uke every agitator, he had over-zealous friends. 
There is little doubt that Mr. Rockefeller's life would have 
been attempted at this time had he exposed himself as care- 
lessly as Mr. Dexter did. But he surrounded himself ^4th 
every precaution of safety. He came and went under an es- 



SANTA CLAKA AND BRANDON 147 

cort of detectives, and his home at Bay Pond was patroled day 
and night by a small regiment of armed guards. It is said that 
some of them sat in tree-top platforms watching for the ap- 
proach of any suspicious persons. The place was actually in 
a state of siege, and the inmates were prisoners of fear, 
scarcely daring to step out of doors or even sit by a window. 
"The Reign of Terror" the newspapers called it. And yet 
some people felt sorry for Lamora I 

The prison house-party at Brandon broke up that autumn 
earlier than planned. The winter came, and passions cooled. 
Then Mr. Rockefeller deliberately stirred them up again, and 
did something that gave the Brandonites just cause of com- 
plaint and resentment against him. A post-office had been 
established at Brandon in 1887, and the mail for Bay Pond 
was delivered there. This was considered an inconvenience of 
distance which might be more fittingly imposed on the un- 
friendly natives. Mr. Rockefeller, therefore, asked his 
friend, Henry C. Pajnie, then Postmaster-General, to have the 
post-office transferred to Bay Pond. This was done with 
obsequious alacrity. As a result those who wanted their mail 
— and many of them lived far beyond Brandon — were subject 
to a lengthened tramp along a road bristling with trespass 
signs. This was perhaps as galling as anything that had hap- 
pened, but the sufferers sought redress in the most approved 
manner. They circulated a petition asking for the restora- 
tion of their post-office to its former site. Seventy-four in- 
terested persons signed this petition, and it was sent to Wash- 
ington. There it was promptly and obligingly pigeonholed. 

A little later "Collier's Weekly" got wind of the matter 
and started an investigation. They sent their representa- 
tive first to Brandon and then to Washington. He laid the 
case of the strayed post-office and lost petition before the 
Fourth Assistant Postmaster, who should have been consulted 
about any change in the first plac^', but who knew nothing 
of it. He made a hunt for the side-tracked petition, found it, 
investigated, and ordered the post-office at Bay Pond to be 
restored to its original and legitimate location. 

This was a well-deserved victory for the Brandonites, but it 
was their only lasting one. The end of their long adventure in 



148 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

obstinacy was defeat, and many accepted it before the end. 
As Lamora's cases dragged slowly on, the first enthusiasm 
of his friends began to cool to a cash temperature. They 
gradually accepted what was offered for their places, and 
moved away, and as they went their houses were torn down. 
Finally Lamora's stood almost alone. In it the old man con- 
tinued to live, broken in health but not in spirit, a prisoner 
of injunctions, trespass signs, and gamekeepers. Iji it he 
finally died. His foolishness did not descend to his son, how- 
ever. The latter gladly accepted $1,000 for the house of con- 
tention, and in 1915 it was the last, lone structure on the battle- 
field of Brandon. 

It must not be supposed that the form of enmity that re- 
sulted in the Santa Clara murder and in threats of similar 
lawlessness at Brandon, was peculiar to those localities. It 
simply developed there into acuter virulence and was given 
wider publicity. It existed more or less wherever similar con- 
ditions existed, and it began with the establishment of the 
first private park. 

It cannot be justified, of course, but it can be explained, and 
to some extent, excused. The early Adirondacker lived in a 
wilderness, and was bred to the roving freedom of his en- 
vironment. To be suddenly and imperatively confronted by 
vast property restrictions that were not only new to him but 
seemed both senseless and selfish, was to arouse that feeling of 
injustice to which the primitive reasoner is always prone. 
Some natives accepted the new order of things with grumbling 
resignation; others with guerrilla opposition. Some park- 
builders, moreover, tempered the assertion of their rights 
with tact and diplomacy; others asserted them without any 
attempt at conciliation. Each, it is safe to say, reaped a 
harvest of personal good will or ill feeling which, in the 
main, bore distinct traces of what he had sowed. 

The local antagonism to private parks is dying out with 
the generation to whom they were a restrictive innovation. 
The present generation finds them an accomplished fact, and 
takes them as much for granted as the automobile. Their 
economic value is also being recognized. They have brought 
profitable employment to many a man's door, and they have 



SANTA CLARA AND BRANDON 149 

been a potent factor in preserving the forests and the game. 
The one lingering criticism against them is that they absorb 
large areas of what was intended for a public playground. 
This cannot be denied; but after all the public still has left 
some two million acres where it may roam and camp at will 
and hunt and fish in season. 



CHAPTER XLII 
LUMBERING 

THERE were a few distinctive features of Adirondack 
lumbering, and the object of this chapter is to point 
them out and offer a bird's-eye view of the conditions they 
created. 

Those wishing for statistics and general information upon 
every phase of lumbering operations vAW find them in the 
Annual Report for 1900, of the Forest, Fish, and Game Com- 
mission. This contains an article by the former Superin- 
tendent of Forests William F. Fox, entitled: "History of 
the Lumber Industry in the State of New York. " It is a very 
comprehensive and therefore lengthy article, covering seventy 
quarto pages, but it is as readable as it is instructive. It 
tells everytliing about a tree, from its home in the forest to its 
distant destiny in a sawmill. There are a number of excellent 
and enlightening pictures, and a very interesting map of early 
settlements and sawmills; for the two went hand in hand in 
pioneer days. The text, the illustrations, and the map cover 
the entire State, and the Adirondacks are mentioned only in- 
cidentally. But the generalizations of the article are ap- 
plicable to any region. 

Adirondack trees were always cut in the winter. The men 
went into the woods and built rough log houses, known as 
"lumber-camps," near the scene of their activities. The 
ground chosen generally sloped to some lake or river. First 
of all "skidways" were made, that is, open slides from the 
high points of the tract to the water's edge. Down these the 
logs were "skidded." At the bottom they were piled up, 
measured, and marked. Each firm had its cabalistic sign 
which, when indented with a marking-hammer on the end of 
a log, became a legalized trade-mark. 

When spring came and the ice broke up, the logs were 
thro'svn into the water, and started on the journey to some 
distant mill. The chopper's task was done, and the log- 

150 



LUMBEEING 151 

driver's began. The latter calling was one of great hard- 
ship and danger. It meant constant exposure, not only to 
wind and weather, but to ice-cold water. It offered great op- 
portunities for skill and daring, and many of its devotees, of 
course, became famous for both. Virtually all of them could 
stand upright on a floating log, balancing themselves with 
their long pike-poles. Some of them could dance on one, 
making it revolve with their feet. A few — the very top- 
notchers — have been known to turn a somersault on a very 
broad log. 

The French Canadians as a rule made the best log-drivers 
and became the most cunning at the tricks of their trade. 
They seemed naturally endowed with the agility, recklessness, 
and immunity to exposure that must combine to make the 
expert. They have always predominated as a race in the 
lumbering operations in these woods. 

There were two distinct phases of Adirondack log-driving 
— the passage of lakes as well as rivers. And the lakes, be- 
cause they have no current, were the more difficult proposi- 
tion. The logs were either rafted together or enclosed loosely 
in connected encircling logs called a **boom.'' This mass was 
then '^warped" forward by means of an anchor, a long heavy 
cable, and an upright windlass, placed on a platform at the 
front of the raft or boom. Progress by this method was 
called ^'kedging." It was at best very slow and arduous, 
and depended largely on favorable winds or no winds at 
all. To secure the latter condition the night was frequently 
chosen for kedging. Even so, a strong adverse wind the next 
day might undo a whole night's work and drive the boom 
back to its starting point. 

This made a lake more dreaded than a river, although the 
latter was not all plain sailing. The logs had to be kept from 
lagging on the banks, and where there were rapids with 
projecting rocks, if one or two logs got caught, a thousand 
would quickly pile up behind them, and a blockade, known as 
a '* log-jam," result. To loosen a jam of any size was the 
most difficult and dangerous work log-drivers had to per- 
form. And when their labor was done they had loosened 
the avalanche. 



152 A HISTOKY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

Volunteers were always called for the work of breaking a 
jam, for the hazard was usually one of life and death — the 
loosening of some central key log that held back an im- 
pounded mass of hundreds, perhaps thousands. But some 
one was always ready to lose his life or gain the applause 
of his comrades and boss. Success brought no other reward 
than fame. 

Log-driving and marking may be said to have originated 
in the Adirondacks. The rafting of logs and floating them 
down broad rivers was an ancient custom, but the idea of 
sending detached logs down narrow, rock-riven streams, was 
first tried in 1813 on the Schroon River branch of the Upper 
Hudson. It originated with Norman and Alanson Fox, who 
were lumbering the Brant Lake Tract, which is west of 
Schroon Lake and partly within the **blue line." As a neces- 
sary corollary log-driving sprang into existence at the same 
time. No sooner had this new method been successfully tried 
than it came into general vogue. Above all it made possible 
and lucrative the later lumbering of the interior sections of the 
Adirondacks. 

The use of rivers for log-driving caused damage and an- 
noyance to shore-owners, and led to early legislation declaring 
certain rivers *' public highways," and imposing certain re- 
strictions, never very burdensome, on the lumbermen who 
used them. The first river in the State to be declared a high- 
way was the Salmon River, below Malone, in 1806; and the 
Raquette River, from its mouth to the first falls, in 1810. 
These first acts licensed boats and rafts only, but were gradu- 
ally amended so as to cover the newer form of log-driving. 

It was not till 1846, however, that the Raquette and Saranac 
rivers were declared public highways throughout their entire 
length. The date may be taken to mark the beginning of lum- 
bering on a big scale in the interior of the mountains. 

A peculiarity of Adirondack lumbering is the fact that 
logs were always cut thirteen feet long, although the reason 
for the choice of this odd length remains a mystery. Else- 
where logs have always been cut into lengths of sixteen feet, 
or some other even number. 

Another local divergence from general methods was the 



LUMBERING 153 

buying and selling of logs by count instead of by computed 
contents. The standard of count in the Adirondacks was a 
log thirteen feet long and nineteen inches ^ in diameter at 
the top. This was the unit of measurement, and was called a 
** standard" or *' market." A lumberman would speak of 
letting a job for ** fifty thousand markets." As five markets 
were considered equal to one thousand feet, the job would be 
for ten million feet of lumber. This manner of selling logs 
by count, using some fixed size as a standard unit, was orig- 
inated by Norman Fox of Warren County, who, with his 
brother had inaugurated the driving of detached logs. Out- 
side of the Adirondack region logs were sold according to the 
log rule of either Doyle or Scribner. These two men com- 
puted the contents of a log in board measure. Their tables 
varied in method and result, but one or the other was in 
general use. 

Having outlined the few distinctive features of Adiron- 
dack lumbering, we turn to a survey of its activities. They 
began on the borderland in 1813, but they did not penetrate 
to the heart of the wilderness till much later — about 1850. 
The march of the lumbermen was like that of an invading 
army — they attacked and destroyed the outposts first, and 
only gradually slashed their way to the inner citadel. They 
did damage, because they lumbered carelessly, with no con- 
cern for the future. Their worst sin was the fire menace 
that they left behind, and which caused incalculable destruc- 
tion. Their damage to the superficial appearance of the 
woods, however, was negligible. Only the largest conifers 
were felled in the early days. All other trees were left stand- 
ing. As a consequence, the spring foliage would often com- 
pletely camouflage the traces of a winter's cut. Attention 
has been called to this point in the chapter on Adirondack 
Murray, who, because he saw no obvious trail of the lumber- 
man's ax, was led into a gross misstatement concerning it. 

This chapter is concerning itself solely with the physical 
aspects of lumbering. The moral side belongs more essen- 
tially to the following chapter, and there the destructive fires 

1 On the Saranac River a 22-inch diameter was used and called the "Saranac 
Standard." 



154 A HISTOEY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

for which the lumbermen had long been strewing the tinder, 
and the story of their actual stealings and attempted grabs will 
be duly recorded. Their sins were many, but one thing often 
laid at their door they did not do, as Mr. Fox very properly 
points out in his article. They did not build the dams that 
killed so much standing timber along the rivers. They ulti- 
mately built a great number of '* splash" or ''flooding" dams 
to help carry their logs over narrow rocky places, but the 
gates w^ere soon reopened and the flood subsided. As Mr. 
Fox says: 

There was no backflow during the period of vegetation ; and the tem- 
porary flooding of the roots of trees does not kill the timber. Trees 
are killed by water only where it is allowed to cover the ground for 
two or more successive summers. ... In nearly every instance the 
dead timber in the flowed lands of the Adirondacks is the result of 
some dam or reservoir which was built in the interest of State canals, 
local steamboat lines, or manufactories on the lower waters. The lum- 
bermen had little or nothing to do with them. 

Every lake or stream of any size in the Adirondacks has 
probably played some part in the story of lumbering, but the 
big operations were quite naturally around the longest rivers 
— the Hudson, the Raquette, and the Saranac. 

The first distinctive Adirondack lumbering began along the 
Upper Hudson and its tributaries in 1813. For seventy-five 
years thereafter the forests around the eastern "blue line" 
were gradually transferred to the vampire sawmills at Glens 
Falls, Sandy Hill, and Fort Edwards. 

In 1810 lumbering began on the lower Raquette, but did not 
extend back into the mountains till about 1850. A law re- 
quiring all log marks in use on the Raquette River to be re- 
corded was passed in 1851. Between that time and 1900 
there was a total of one hundred and two different marks reg- 
istered. This w411 give some idea of what was happening to 
the People's Park for forty years. The interior operations 
along the Raquette gradually centered around the village of 
Tupper Lake and Piercefield Falls, where large mills were 
built that are still active to-day. Tupper Lake has grown to 
be a commercial village of considerable size and importance. 



LUMBERING 155 

and is the only incorporated one in the Adirondacks depend- 
ing for its support solely on lumbering and manufacturing 
interests. 

Tne other great highway for the lumbermen was the Saranac 
Valley, from its source in the Saranac Lakes to its mouth at 
Plattsburg. Here again the penetration to the heart of the 
mountains was very gradual. The first little English sawmill 
was built at the mouth of the Saranac River by Jacob Ferris 
in 1787. It was later bought by the Platts, after whom Platts- 
burg was named. It was several years later before lumbering 
operations began to move up the river, and not till sixty years 
later that they reached its head. 

It was not till 1846 that the river was declared a public 
highway. In 1847 Orson Richards, a lumberman, purchased 
Township 24, which surrounds Lower Saranac Lake. Mr. 
Almon Thomas, who later became a very well-known and suc- 
cessful operator, had charge of the first drive from this lake 
to the mouth of the river. It consisted of fifty thousand 
''markets," or ten million feet of lumber. This may be said 
to have opened the era of big lumbering in the heart of the 
Adirondacks, and it continued for forty years. 

A little later a big Boston concern bought Township 20, 
which encircles the northern half of Upper Saranac Lake. 
At the head of the lake, where Saranac Inn now stands, they 
built a large mill and established an extensive lumbering- 
headquarters. This was known everywhere as the Maine Mill, 
and the owners called themselves the Maine Company. 

In 1864 Township 21 was also purchased for lumbering- 
purposes, so that the entire region of the Saranac Lakes was 
for a time at the mercy of the woodman's ax. 

No attempt vAW be made to record the names of the hun- 
dred and more concerns that did business along the Raquette 
River. But few survive to-day, and the best known of these 
are probably the Sherman Lumber Company and the Santa 
Clara Lumber Company. 

Fewer firms operated along the Saranac Valley and the 
best known were: The Maine Company, H. & 0. A. Tefft, 
J. H. & E. C. Baker, Thomas & Hammond, Loren Ellis, and 
Christopher F. Norton. 



156 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

The latter was called the King of Adirondack lumbermen, 
and he justified the title. He reigned supreme between 1860 
and 1880. At one time he owned or controlled every impor- 
tant mill along the Saranac River, and dominated the lumber 
industry of the entire valley. His rise was meteoric, and so 
was his decline. 

He was born in Fredonia, N. Y., in 1821. He went into the 
lumber business in Erie, Pa. About 1850 he moved to Platts- 
burg, and began the operations that were to make him famous 
— and then ruin him. He died a poor man in 1890. 

He was a man of commanding physique and appearance, of 
great executive ability and tireless energy. He is said to 
have had a marvelous memory for details and a wonderful 
gift for handling men. He was all in all a big man, but got 
entangled in too vast a dream. He was noticeable among his 
confreres for the neatness of his clothes and the care of his 
person. As one who knew him has said : he was always as well 
dressed as his lumber. Both stood very high in popular es- 
teem. 

This chapter has been written in the past tense because 
the tilings of which it treats are either passed or rapidly 
passing. The log drive has almost entirely disappeared from 
most streams, and evidences of the old lumbering linger now 
only around such a place as Tupper Lake. The available 
areas have been enormously lessened by exhaustion and State 
control, and in what is left new methods have replaced the 
old. 

Log railways, logging cars, and steam log-loaders, have 
gradually taken the place of water transportation. The rail- 
way can be worked every month in the year, and so brings a 
steady and constant supply to the mill, which, in consequence, 
never need be idle. The streams, on the other hand, could be 
worked only in the spring, and brought their supply all at 
once, or, in case of a bad log-jam, not till after a long delay. 

Log railways are temporary structures built from the cen- 
ter of some lumbering-tract to some point of contact with a 
permanent trunk-line. The result is that whereas the traveler 
by water formerly met all the evidences of lumbering, the 
traveler by rail is more likely to see them to-day. 



LUMBERING I57 

But if the new methods and improved appliances for hand- 
ling logs have brought advantages to the lumberman, they 
have brought decided disadvantages to the forest. In the 
old days the hardwoods— birch, maple, beech, ash, and cherry 
—were not cut, because they were too heavy to float. Only the 
conifers were taken — spruce, pine and hemlock. The log 
railway has made the hardwoods available, however, so that 
what was once a mere thinning process threatens to become 
one of complete denudation. 

Another great detriment to the forests has been the com- 
paratively recent but very rapid growth of the pulp-wood in- 
dustry. Ground pulp, by a primitive method, was first made 
in Stockbridge, Mass., in 1867. Soon after, chemical mills 
were established which reduced the fiber by the action of acids 
under pressure. By 1900 there were over one hundred such 
mills in New York State alone. 

The effect on lumbering soon became noticeable. With the 
sawmill in view only the full-grow^n trees were cut, but Avith 
the pulp-mill in view, large and small, young and old went 
down before the ax. 

At first only poplar were taken, which, being good for noth- 
ing else, gave no cause for alarm. But it Avas soon discovered 
that excellent fiber could be made from spruce, and later from 
hemlock, pine, and balsam. Spruce to-day is considered so 
much more valuable for pulp-wood than for building purposes 
that it is rapidly disappearing from the lumber market. 

Pulp-wood is cut into four-foot lengths, and, consisting 
largely of slender sticks, is easily carried by water. Where 
there is a long dry haul the pulp-men, instead of using a log 
railway, often build water slides. These are long wooden 
troughs into which a stream of water is turned, and on wiiich 
the pulp-wood is floated to its destination. The Rogers Pulp 
Co., of Ausable Forks, had such a slide that was eight miles 
long. It carried their pulp stock to the Ausable River, which 
in turn carried it to the mills. 

The old lumbering — of the conifers alone — had a certain 
romantic grandeur about it. It held danger and daring, hard- 
ship and heroism. It took big men to handle the big trees. 
The drive was a matter of brains as well as brawn. But the 



158 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

new lumbering, the slashing of everything in sight for pulp- 
wood, makes no appeal to the imagination. It seems like 
the killing of women and children — a mere ruthless, reckless 
warfare on the forests. 



i 



CHAPTER XLIII 
THE ADIRONDACK LEAGUE CLUB 

ALTHOUGH this is the largest proprietary sporting-club 
in the Adirondacks, if not in the world, occasion to 
mention it has not arisen in the sequence of events here re- 
corded. This is due to the fact that it lies in an extreme south- 
western comer of the woods, and comprises a region so wild 
and sparsely settled that it lacked the sinews of history until 
the club itself provided them. 

The Adirondack League Club was organized on June 21, 
1890, by Mills W. Barse, 0. L. Snyder, Robert C. Alexander, 
M. M. Pomeroy, and Henry C. Squires. Its first Board of 
Trustees was made up of these gentlemen and the following: 
A. G. Mills, Warren Higley, A. R. Harper, Warner Miller, 
Henry E. Howland, Henry Patton, and B. E. Fernow. 

The objects of the club were and are: (1) The preserva- 
tion and conservation of the Adirondack forest and the propa- 
gation and proper protection of fish and game in the Adiron- 
dack region. (2) The establishment and promotion of an 
improved system of scientific forestry. (3) The maintenance 
of an ample preserve for the benefit of its members for the 
purpose of hunting, fishing, rest, and recreation. 

On August 20, 1890, the club acquired possession of Town- 
ships 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the Moose River Tract, lying in 
Hamilton and Herkimer counties, and formerly known as the 
Anson Blake Tract. This tract contained 104,000 acres, and 
was purchased by the club for $475,000. It was probably 
the largest contiguous area of absolutely virgin forest left in 
the Adirondacks, consisting mainly of birch, maple, and 
beech. 

In 1893, by a merger of the Bisby Club ^ into the League 

iThis little club of twenty-five members was organized on June 1, 187S, and 
was the first sporting-club in the mountains to own its preserve. The Tahawris 
Club was organized two years earlier, but held its lands imder lease. (See Chap. 
XIV, "Adirondack Iron Works.") 

159 



160 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

Club, the latter acquired the Bisby property, consisting of 
329 acres around First Bisby Lake. In 1894 the League Club 
purchased the Wager Tract of 12,000 acres lying for the most 
part in Township 1, and containing numerous lakes and 
streams. 

Besides the 116,000 acres thus o>^Tied by the club, it con- 
trolled by lease the exclusive hunting and fishing privileges 
of 75,000 acres adjoining it on the east. The total preserve, 
therefore, amounted to nearly 200,000 acres or over 275 square 
miles, an area eight times as large as Manhattan Island. 
From the most easterly to the most westerly point in this tract 
was nearly 40 miles, and from the club-house on Honnedaga 
Lake to the one on Moose Lake there is an almost straight 
trail 25 miles in length. 

The club made its headquarters and erected its main club- 
house on the largest and most beautiful lake on this immense 
preserve — Lake Honnedaga. It is six miles long and about 
one in width, and has an elevation of 2,200 feet, making it 
higher by some 400 feet than either Raquette or Lake Placid. 

When it came into possession of the club, it was known as 
"Jock's Lake." Jonathan Wright was one of the most fa- 
mous hunters, trappers, and Indian-killers of the early days. 
He roamed over the Adirondacks, but confined himself more 
particularly to the southwestern region which lay nearer his 
home. In some of his wanderings "Jock," as he was famil- 
iarly called, ran across the unknown lake that was to bear his 
name. He fished in it and made a catch of such size and 
beauty that he decided to keep these waters for his own 
private use as long as possible. It was not a difficult thing to 
do at that time. He spoke of the lake, and occasionally showed 
a sample of its wares, but never di\ailged its whereabouts. 
The result was that it was called "Jock's Lake" both before 
and after its location became generally known. 

When it was acquired by the Adirondack League Club they 
changed the name to "Honnedaga Lake," under the impres- 
sion that they were restoring to it an aboriginal title of musi- 
cal sound and appropriate meaning. Honnedaga was thought 
to mean "clear water," and seemed peculiarly suited to a 



THE ADIRONDACK LEAGUE CLUB 161 

spring-fed lake, with white sandy bottom, whose waters were 
remarkably clear — so clear, indeed, that the name "Transpar- 
ent Lake" was sometimes applied to it in speech and on some 
early maps. The cold-blooded philologists, however, tell us 
that Honnedaga has nothing to do with transparency. Ac- 
cording to Beauchamp, it means "hilly places," and is a 
name "recently applied to Jock's Lake."^ 

No one was more piqued over Wright's reticence about his 
private lake than his friend and rival in woodcraft, Nicholas 
Stoner, the most notorious Indian-killer of his day. Nick 
resolved, therefore, to discover an unknown lake of his own, 
and play it off in terms of mystery and speckled trout against 
his friend's. This was soon done, and "Nick's Lake" (which 
still bears the name) was the result. The southern end of this 
lake is in the northern part of the Wager Tract, and is there- 
fore a part of the Adirondack League Club Preserve. It was 
in Nick's Lake, it may be remembered, that Otis Arnold 
drowned himself after killing the guide, James Short.^ 

Originally there were no dues in the Adirondack League 
Club. Extra income was earned through lumbering-leases. 
The club's real estate was capitalized at $500,000 represented 
by 500 membership shares. These were offered to members 
at $1,000 originally, but the price has been advanced with 
the development of the property. Each share entitles the 
holder to an undivided one five-hundreth interest in the entire 
property of the club, to the hunting and fishing privileges of 
the entire tract, and to a club deed for a five-acre plot wherever 
selected, with 200 feet of water front, for a private cottage or 
camp site. About eighty of these have been erected on the 
three larger lakes. 

In the course of the years the club has sold some of its land, 
but still owms, 70,000 acres and leases 22,000, so that it still 
has a playground covering about 144 square miles. Within it 
are 56 lakes and ponds, 18 miles of river — not counting small 
streams— and over 100 miles of trails. There are three main 
club-houses, one each on Little Moose Lake, Bisby Lake, and 

^Aboriginal Place yames of New York, p. 92. 
2 See Chap. XIII, "John Brown's Tract." 



162 A HISTOEY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

Honnedaga Lake. It has been found advisable to establish 
dues and to divide the membership into three classes : Mem- 
bers (owning shares), associate and junior members (owning 
no shares). The total membership at present is about 300. 



CHAPTER XLIV 
LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 

IT was not till the year 1872 that the first legislative recog- 
nition of the possible wisdom of conserving the Adiron- 
dacks occurred. There was then created a State Park Com- 
mission to consider their preservation, and a topographical 
survey of the region was authorized. 

, Its legislative and administrative history since then has 
been given the perfunctory record contained in a long series 
of State reports, covering annual periods since 1872, but not 
always published annually. The first reports were issued 
by Verplanck Colvin as State Surveyor. They appeared 
regularly for the first two years, but after that long lapses 
occurred between their publication. In 1885 the Forest Pre- 
serve and a Forest Commission were created, and the latter 
began issuing annual reports, which have been continued by 
each succeeding commission up to the present time. 

These commission reports, it must be remembered, covered 
the Catskills as well as the Adirondacks, and later the fisheries 
of the entire State. They were not exclusively Adirondack 
reports, nor do they tell more than a meager half of the story. 
The other half this chapter will attempt to supply. For many 
a glimpse behind the scenes which I am able to give, especially 
in the important events of 1885 and 1894, I am greatly in- 
debted to the kindness of Mr. Peter F. Schofield, Mr. Frank 
S. Gardner, and Mr. William F. McConnell. These gentle- 
men were leaders in the long forest fight, and have graciously 
placed at my disposal intimate memories and valuable docu- 
ments relating to their campaigns. 

The most compelling comment on the State's administration 
of the woods is published by the woods themselves. They are 
sadly eloquent of neglected possibilities and wasted opportuni- 
ties. What might have been a source of ceaseless income to 
to the State and unmarred beauty to the people, is neither. 

163 



164 A HISTOKY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

The fault is primarily referable to that public indifference to 
future considerations which the changing nature of democratic 
institutions tends to foster by making it so easy for every- 
body's business to become nobody's. It needed in this in- 
stance the most strenuous efforts of a few public-spirited or- 
ganizations and a few unselfish men to arouse any general in- 
terest in the forests. Even then the awakening was very 
gradual. One of the first to pave the way for it was Verplanck 
Colvin, who, as an early explorer and first topographical sur- 
veyor of the Adirondacks, did much, both by ^vord and deed, 
to attract public attention to them. 

VERPLANCK COLVTN 

This name was so closely linked with the Adirondacks for so 
many years, and Mr. Colvin was so familiar a figure in them 
in the early days, that it is a little surprising that he did not 
earn for himself the title of ''Adirondack Colvin." This hon- 
ored prefix was occasionally applied to him, but it did not 
cling to his name as it did to Murray's and Harry Radford's, 
although his connection with the woods was longer than theirs. 

From 1865 to 1900 he was constantly surveying them, com- 
piling reports, and talking about them. He always pointed 
with pride to the fact that he was the first to advocate publicly 
their preservation as a State park. He made this suggestion 
in a speech delivered at Lake Pleasant, Hamilton County, in 
1868, in the course of which he urged ''the creation of an 
Adirondack Park or timber preserve, under charge of a forest 
warden and deputies. ' ' ^ 

1 Mr. Colvin thus quotes from this speech in several private letters which I 
have seen, and refers to it in some of his reports. The speech does not appear 
to have been printed, nor can I find any one who even remembers it. Judging 
by the time and the place, the occasion was impromptu and the audience small. 
Soon after, however, we have printed evidence of his making the same plea in 
the same words. Tliis occurs at the close of his paper on the ascent of Mount 
Seward, which was published in the 24th Annual Report of the New York 
State Museum of Natural History for the year 1S70. Here, for the first time, 
so far as I can discover, the suggestion of a State park appears in print. Some 
may think, however, that it is contained, though less definitely expressed, in an 
editorial of the Xetc York Times as early as 1S64. The probable genesis of this 
interesting editorial was discussed in Chap. XXVIII, and the full text of it 
will be found in Appendix D. 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 165 

As early as 1865 Mr. Colvin's interest in the Adirondacks led 
him to prepare for his own use an outline map of the region. 
He began by copying data from the old colonial grants, and 
ended by making a private survey of the southern woods in 
the summer of the same year. The idea of preserving them 
as a State park took strong possession of him then and there, 
and he urged it in his talk and in his writings until it became 
an accomplished fact. 

He also urged the wisdom of beginning to build an aqueduct 
from the Adirondacks to New York, foreseeing that the city 
would some day be compelled to turn to these mountains for 
its water-supply,^ This far-sighted prophecy was of course 
laughed at and ignored fifty years ago, but the day of its ful- 
filment is drawing ever nearer. If the population of the 
metropolis continues to increase at its present rate, it is 
easily demonstrable that within twenty years the utmost 
capacity of the present water-supply will be inadequate to 
meet the increased consumption. When this happens, the 
Adirondacks must inevitably be tapped. 

In 1870 Mr. Colvin made the first ascent and measurement 
of Mount Seward. He loaned the record of this expedition 
to the State University which published it as part of its 
twenty-fourth annual report. In 1872 he was named on the 
State Park Commission which was appointed to investigate 
the feasibility of making a great preserve out of the Adiron- 
dacks. Ex-Governor Horatio Seymour was made president 
of this commission, and Mr. Colvin secretary. The latter did 
much of the research work and wrote the report that was 
finally submitted.^ 

The result, as far as the Legislature was concerned, was 
merely to authorize a topographical survey of the region and 
to appoint Mr. Colvin as superintendent of it. 

Thus began a service with the State that lasted for twenty- 
eight years — till 1900. In this time he naturally did an im- 
mense amount of work, which is summarized in his official re- 
ports. They were issued intermittently, but cover virtually 
the whole period. They contain much dry statistical matter, 

1 See Topographical Survey of the Adirondack Wilderness, 1S73-1S74, P- 288. 

2 For further details see under year 1872. 



166 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

of course, but the earlier ones, and especially the first, have 
the narrative interest and charm of a journal of exploration in 
some distant land. They corrected many popular misconcep- 
tions of long standing and revealed some highly interesting 
discoveries.^ But when the highest mountains had been 
measured, and the location of lakes and the sources of the 
larger rivers determined, the glamour of novelty wore off and 
his reports lost most of their popular appeal. They became 
the dry records of old lines and new boundaries, in which the 
State or a few individuals only had interest. 

The years have shown his work as a whole to be of very 
uneven scientific value. The resurvey of many of his lines 
has proved them to be inaccurate. Much of the great mass 
of material which he collected, owing to the lack of any sys- 
tematic filing, tabulation, or indexing, was made useless to 
his successors. His office at Albany, indeed, looked more like 
the dressing-room of a sporting-club than the repository of 
valuable records. These, if there at all, were apt to be buried 
beneath a picturesque profusion of snow-shoes, mocasins, 
and pack-baskets. 

This collection of accessories typified in a way Mr. Colvin's 
love of the woods, which was very genuine. In them he was 
an indefatigable worker, but, according to guides who served 
under him, he was neither a good woodsman nor a good man- 
ager. His field work suffered from lack of ordinary fore- 
thought for the comfort of his men. Meals were irregular; 
supplies were uncertain; and the night's encampment often 
received no attention till darkness enforced it. These things 
caused quite unnecessary hardships, and made his ser\'ice 
unpopular. And it was these shortcomings in his woodsman- 
ship, I fancy, that robbed him of the ''Adirondack" prefix to 
his name. 

He was bom in Albany on January 4, 1847. He received 
his early education at home, from private tutors, but later 
attended the Albany Academy. After graduation he went into 
the office of his father, Andrew James Colvin, under whose 
guidance he read and practised law for a while. But his 
tastes all leaned to science, and he soon deserted the law for 

» See Chap. XV, under "Source of the Hudson." 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 167 

the study of geology, geodesy, and topography. In 1881 he 
lectured on these subjects at Hamilton College. In 1882 he 
was appointed by Governor Cornell a delegate to the first 
American Forestry Congress. 

After retiring from the Adirondack Survey he became, in 
1902, president of the New York Canadian Pacific Railway 
Company — an enterprise that never progressed beyond the 
paper stage. Some old charters had been acquired, and on 
the strength of these Mr. Colvin and his friends sought per- 
mission to build a railroad that should traverse the wilderness 
and compete with the New York Central. Much opposition 
developed, and attention was called to the fact that the former 
Superintendent of Surveys was now seeking a privilege for 
himself which he had always been eager to oppose when it had 
been a question of granting it to others. For several years 
spasmodic attempts to secure a charter were made, but none 
was granted, and the scheme was finally abandoned. 

After this Mr. Colvin retired from public life and lived in 
hermit-like seclusion in his home in Albany. With increasing 
age his mental faculties became impaired, and he was re- 
moved to the Albany Hospital. He never married. He was 
a member of a number of outdoor clubs and of several scien- 
tific organizations. He died in December, 1920. 

For the purposes of a brief preliminary survey the legis- 
lative history of the woods may be divided into four fairly 
distinct periods : 

1872-1885 

The Colvin surveys were authorized, and the Legislature 
was prodded into a spasmodic, half-hearted interest in the 
woods. It appointed investigating committees, and then vir- 
tually ignored their reports. Finally, however, one was 
heeded, and in 1885 a Forest Preserve and a Forest Commis- 
sion were created. 

1885-1895 

This was a decade of unhampered legislative control — a 
control that played for the most part into the greedy hands 



168 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1885-1895 (continued) 

of the lumber interests. The net result was to convince all 
true friends of the forests, and a majority of the voters, that 
the guarding of the woods could not safely be left to a free- 
handed Legislature. Its hands were consequently tied by a 
drastic constitutional amendment that went into effect on 
January 1, 1895. 

1895-1915 

These were lean years for the forests. They were years of 
almost unceasing, though unsuccessful, attacks upon the new 
amendment. They were years of much lax administration, 
resulting in enormous lumber thefts and much questionable 
surrendering of the State's title to its lands; they were, worst 
of all, years of the most extensive and destructive forest fires. 
The lesson of all these losses was driven home, however, and 
the dawn of new era began. 

1915-1920 

The forest administration under a single-headed commis- 
sion, and with Mr. George D. Pratt as commissioner, was 
brought to an ever higher level of combative and constructive 
efficiency. Lumber-stealing has been virtually stopped. The 
fire menace has been reduced to a minimum by a well-devel- 
oped detecting and fighting system. Efforts to circumvent 
the laws against the flooding of State lands have almost en- 
tirely ceased, and constitutional provision has been made for 
the legitimate requirements of water-storage. The cases of 
unlawful occupancy of State lands have been greatly reduced. 
The disputed titles to State lands are now defended as they 
should be. Violations of the game laws are detected by im- 
proved methods and punished without fear or favor. 

Last but not least. Commissioner Pratt has inaugurated a 
publicity and educational campaign through publications and 
illustrated lectures. This has spread a knowledge of the com- 
missions 's work and aims, and awakened a sympathy with 
them that is creating a more general interest in the woods 
than has ever existed before. 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 169 

The more important details of all these years are chrono- 
logically recorded in the pages that follow. Each minor 
event, as far as possible, is condensed into a single paragraph, 
and the bigger events only are given broader treatment. 
This method is pursued in the belief that the chapter will gain 
in usefulness by being offered as a compilation for easy refer- 
ence, rather than as a long, unbroken narrative for consecu- 
tive reading. 

1872 

First legislative action toward a Park. 

In tliis year the legislative history of the woods may be said 
to have begun. On March 15, Thomas G. Alvord introduced 
in the Assembly an act creating a State Park Commission ''to 
inquire into the expediency of providing for vesting in the 
State the title to the timbered regions lying within the conn- 
ties of Lewis, Essex, Clinton, Franklin, St. Lawrence, Herki- 
mer, and Hamilton, and converting the same into a public 
park." 

First Park Commission, 

The commissioners named were: 
Horatio Seymour 
Patrick H. Agan 
William B. Taylor 
George H. Paynor 
William A. Wheeler 
Verplanck Colvin 
Franklin B. Hough. 

Legislature autJiorizes First Topographical Survet/. 

The same Legislature authorized Mr. Colvin to make a 
topographical survey of the Adirondacks. His report was not 
published till March 10, of the following year, but, like each 
subsequent report, it will be treated here under the period 
which it covers and the date which it bears. 



170 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1872 {continued) 
First Report 1872. 

Colvin's first report, now very rare, is a thin octavo volume, 
entitled: ''Report on a Topographical Survey of the Adiron- 
dack Wilderness of New York." This was the first undertak- 
ing of its kind, for the geological survey of Professor Em- 
mons and his assistants was, of course, something entirely dif- 
ferent. The revelation of old errors and new facts made by 
Mr. Colvin were little short of epoch-making. The most im- 
portant of them was undoubtedly the discovery of the true 
pond sources of the Hudson and Ausable rivers, of which 
details are given in Chapter XV. 

This First report urges the protection of the forests and 
the conservation of its waters by the State. 

1873 

Report by State Park Commission. 

On May 15th the State Park Commission, as might have 
been expected from the able men it contained, made an un- 
usually strong and intelligent report of their findings. They 
advanced the most cogent reasons for setting the Adirondacks 
aside as a State park. The Legislature took no action, how- 
ever. 

Report for 1873. 

Colvin's second topographical report was a mere continua- 
tion and elaboration of the first, making a much thicker vol- 
ume, packed with statistical matter, and of very little general 
interest. 

New York Board of Trade and Transportation organized. 

In this year the New York Board of Trade and Transporta- 
tion was organized **to promote the Trade, Commerce and 
Manufactures of the United States, and especially of the State 
and City of New York." There would seem to be nothing in 
this program that would involve the Adirondacks, but, as will 
appear, this organization became their special guardian at a 
time when they were sadly in need of one. 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 171 

1874 

First gubernatorial mention. 

Governor John A. Dix, in his annual message, made the first 
specific gubernatorial recommendation concerning the Adi- 
rondacks by calling special attention to the report of the State 
Park Commission, and urging the Legislature to take some 
action on its excellent suggestions. Again, however, nothing 
was done. 

Delayed report. 

Colvin's report for this year was not issued till 1879. 

1874-1879 

Report 1874-79, third to seventh. 

Between these dates nothing of moment occurred in forest 
matt3rs. Colvin issued no report till 1879, when one volume 
appeared, containing condensed reports for the intervening 
years. They have no general interest. 

1879-1882 

Second gubernatorial mention. 

Between 1879 and 1882 occurs another hiatus in reports and 
incidents. In 1882, however, Governor Cornell reawakened 
some interest in the Adirondacks by calling attention to them 
in his annual message, and making an urgent plea that some 
steps be taken to protect and save them. 

Delayed report. 

Colvin did not issue another report till 1884. 

1883 

Brooks resolution. 

Erastus Brooks introduced a resolution in the Assembly 
asking the Committee on Agriculture to report some '* posi- 
tive legislation for the protection of the forests and trees of 
the State from destruction." 



172 A HISTORY OF THE ADIEONDACKS 

1883 (continued) 
State lands withdraivn from sale. 

This Committee made a report and framed a bill, but the 
Legislature refused to pass it. Finally, however, it was 
moved to enact a law withdrawing from sale lands belonging 
to the State '*in the counties of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, 
Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Saratoga, St. Lawrence, 
and Warren." ^ 

Senate committee appointed to investigate. 

Soon after this withdrawal act had been passed, the Senate 
appointed a committee to ascertain "what forest lands situ- 
ated in the said counties and adjacent to the forest lands now 
owned by the State can be acquired by the State, and at what 
price." This was the first legislative move toward having 
the State purchase outright lands with some timber value, in- 
stead of acquiring through tax sales those having little or 
none. An appropriation of $10,000 was made, but its expendi- 
ture was limited to lands in which the State was already a 
joint owmer, and which were sold under judgment for parti- 
tion. 

Chamber of Commerce action. 

On December 6th the New York Chamber of Commerce 
took its first formal action in the matter of forest-preserva- 
tion, and thus became the pioneer civic organization to take 
up the fight for saving the woods and waters of the State. 
It appointed a special committee for this purpose, and au- 
thorized it "to invite the co-operation of other associations 
and individuals" to secure the necessary legislation for the 
objects in view. 

Morris K. Jesup. 

The chairman of this special Forestry Committe was Mr. 
Morris K. Jesup, a wealthy banker of New York, and one of 
its most far-sighted and public-spirited citizens. He was in- 

1 The only previous prohibitory act of this kind was passed in 1850, and 
forbid the State to sell lands on the Raquette River at less than 15 cents per acre! 
The State bought back some of these same lands at over $7.00 per acre. 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 173 

1883 (continued) 
deed one of the first knights errant to lay a lance in rest for 
the sorrowing cause of forest-preservation. His special in- 
terest in the Adirondacks was probably a heritage, for he was 
a direct descendant — a great-grandson — of Ebenezer Jessup, 
who at one time Avas so largely interested in the Totten and 
Crossfield Purchase that it was often called by his name, and 
the Jessup River, flowing into Indian Lake, still bears it.^ 

Cooperation of civic bodies. 

The invitation to cooperate sent out by Mr. Jesup's Forest 
Committee brought the New York Board of Trade and Trans- 
portation and the Brooklyn Constitution Club into the ranks 
of the militant forest crusaders. These organizations and the 
Chamber of Commerce fought the good fight together for a 
while and did all they could to preserve the forests for the 
benefit of the people. Mr. Jesup, however, gradually became 
discouraged over the public apathy and political opposition 
that met his unselfish efforts at every turn, and he finally 
withdrew from a contest that seemed so one-sided as to be 
hopeless. Soon after, the Chamber of Commerce, influenced 
by the attitude of their leader in the forest fight, also withdrew. 

New York Board of Trade left alone in the fqht. 

A little later the Brooklyn Constitution Club ceased to ex- 
ist, and the New York Board of Trade and Transportation 
Avas left alone in the field. But fortunately it continued, al- 
most sirigle-handed for many years, the largely thankless and 
ever ceaseless struggle to save the woods from the graft of 
the politician and the greed of the lumberman. It finally se- 
cured for the forests the most momentous protective measure 
in their history (see 1S94), but, owing to the fact that there is 
nothing in the name of the Board of Trade and Transporta- 
tion to suggest the Adirondacks, and that its interest in them 
appears foreign to its other activities, the average person is 
totally unaware of the many vital services the organization 
has rendered to these wooded re.gions. 

1 For further details concerning Ebenezer Jessup, see Chap. TX, "Totten and 
Crossfield Purchase." Formerly tlie name was spelled with a double "s." 



174 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1883 (continued) 

Adirondack Battle of the Marne. 

The Board of Trade saw in the watersheds a mighty asset 
of the Empire State, and it has persistently followed the policy 
of protecting them, as being essential to the commercial, in- 
dustrial, and transportation interests of the commonwealth. 
While it approached the problem as economic rather than sen- 
timental, there was recruited from its ranks that small band 
of militant idealists who, in the face of so much supine indif- 
ference and such active opposition, never swerved from the 
great object for which they had enlisted. All that has been 
gained for it is due to the initiative of these few men. They 
turned the tide of events at the most crucial moment, for it 
was their lean-locked line that fought and won the Adirondack 
Battle of the Marne. 

State Land Survey begun. 

In June of this year the Legislature authorized Mr. Colvin 
to locate and survey all the various detached parcels of State 
land in the Adirondack counties. This was in addition to his 
w^ork on the Topographical Survey, and the two were carried 
on simultaneously. He differentiated them by the titles ''Adi- 
rondack Survey" and ''State Land Survey." 

1884 

Report to 1884 from 1879. 

Colvin published a "Report on the Adirondack and State 
Land Surveys to the Year 1884, with a Description of the 
Boundaries of the Great Land Patents, etc." This was the 
first report since 1879, and covers the work of the intervening 
years, although it is not divided into annual headings. 

Senate committee report. 

The Senate committee appointed in 1883 to investigate the 
acquisition of forest lands made a report in which it found 
that "the State lands are more valuable than has been su- 
posed, and that the interest of the whole people require the 
protection and preservation of these forests." 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL I75 

1884 (continued) 
Another committee authorised. 

The only action taken by the Legislature was to authorize 
Comptroller Alfred C. Chapin to appoint another committee 
to outline a policy of State control of the forests. The mem- 
bers of this committee were not named until the following 
year. 

1885 

Forest Preserve and Forest Commission created. 

This was a red-letter year in Adirondack history. A Forest 
Preserve and a Forest Commission were created, and the 
State inaugurated a policy of forest-protection and super- 
vision. By a narrow margin, however, it missed the honor 
of being the first to do these things. On March 3d California 
had created the first State Board of Forestry in the country, 
and it was May 15th before New York created the second. 

Sargent Coinmittee appointed. 

In January, Comptroller Chapin named the following dis- 
tinguished men on the committee he had been empowered to 
appoint, and described them in the language bracketed against 
their names : 

Prof. Charles S. Sargent of Harvard University. 

(A trained and eminent specialist.) 
D. Willis James of New York. 

(A public-spirited citizen of large business experience, and long interested 

in this important question.) 
Hon. William A. Poucher of Oswego. 

(An able lawyer, frequently elevated by his neighbors to elective office.) 
Edward M. Sbepard of Brooklyn. 

(A gentleman whose rare native capacity, strengthened by legal study and 

practice, gives peculiar value to his unselfish and earnest effort to unravel 

the complexities of this task.) 

Report of Sarge^it Committee. 

This committee made a lengthy report. It discussed the 
further purchase of forest lands, but came to the rather sur- 
prising conclusion that a State policy of extended acquisition, 
although highly desirable, was surrounded with practical dif- 
ficulties which the committee considered insuperable. It made 



176 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1885 {continued) 

definite recommendations, however, for the management of 
the lands already owned by the State, under the supervision 
of a Forest Commission. These suggestions were embodied 
in a series of three bills which were introduced in the Legisla- 
ture, but failed to meet with any enthusiasm there. 

E. P. Martin committees. 

Meanwhile the New York Board of .Trade and Transporta- 
tion and the Brooklyn Constitution Club had been working 
along similar lines through special Forest Committees ap- 
pointed by each organization. Mr. Edmund Philo Martin, 
a brother of Homer Martin, the artist, was made chairman of 
both committees, and Mr. Peter F. Schofield, another enthusi- 
astic worker for the woods, was made a member of each. 

Martin Committees' reports. 

In April these two committees made separate reports, but 
with certain recommendations common to both, and the draft- 
ing of them -was largely Mr. Schofield 's work. They differed 
from the Sargent report in strongly urging the purchase of 
more forest lands. They were widely distributed and read, 
and did much to enlighten and align public sentiment in favor 
of forest-preservation. 

New hill hy Martin and conference in Jesup's office. 

In the meantime the three Sargent bills had been side- 
tracked in the Legislature, and Mr. Martin, eager to revive 
them, conceived the idea of introducing one new consolidated 
bill which should combine and condense the best features of 
the old ones. He found that such a course ^'ould meet with 
general favor. He therefore set to work on the new measure 
in the drafting of which he secured the very valuable advice 
and assistance of Mr. Frank S. Gardner, the active secretary 
of the New York Board of Trade and Transportation, who 
was thoroughly familiar with legislative matters at Albany. 
A\nien the draft of the bill was ready, Mr. Martin arranged to 
have it submitted to a conference of friendly critics, held in 
the office of Mr. Morris K. Jesup. The latter had withdrawn 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 177 

1885 {continued) 

from active participation in the forest fight, but was much 
pleased that Mr. Martin was keeping it up, and was quite 
willing to help in a general way. The meeting in his office 
proved very potential, but, as it was informal, no complete 
record exists of who was there or of the discussion that took 
place. Among those present were Senator Henry R. Low 
of Sullivan County, and General James W. Husted, known as 
** the Bald Eagle of Westchester." These gentlemen had 
originally introduced the Sargent bills. Professor Sargent 
himself was there, and Edward M. Shepard, Mr. Jesup, Mr. 
Martin, Mr. Schofield, and Mr. Gardner. 

Result of Conference. Forest preserve defined. 

The result of the conference was highly satisfactory. 
Every one present approved of the new measure, and the two 
members of the Legislature agreed to introduce and push it. 
This they did, and on May 15th it became Chapter 283 of 
the Laws of 1885. Its two most important provisions read as 
follows : 

Section 7: All the lands now owned or that may hereafter be 
acquired by the State of New York within the counties of Clinton 
[excepting the towns of Altona and Dannemora] ^ Essex, Franklin, 
Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Saratoga, St. Lawrence, Warren, 
Washington, Greene, Ulster, and Sullivan, shall constitute and be 
known as the Forest Preserve. 

Distinctions and additions. 

These counties lie north and south of the Mohawk Valley. 
The original act made no distinction between them, but later 
the State lands in those to the south were called the Catskill 
Preserve, and in those to the north the Adirondack Preserve. 
Oneida County was added to the list in 1887, and Delaware 
in 1888. 

Section 8 : The lands now or hereafter constituting the forest pre- 
serve shall be forever kept as wild forest lands. They shall not be 

1 The brackets are mine, added for the sake of clearness. 



178 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1885 (continued) 

sold, nor shall they be leased or taken by any corporation, public or 
private.^ 

Commissionership offered Mr. Martin. 

This act authorized the governor to appoint a Forest Com- 
mission of three members, to serve without salary. He of- 
fered a cormnissionership to Mr. Martin, who, though greatly 
pleased by this recognition of his services, felt that his dis- 
interestedness might be brought into question if he accepted 
the appointment. He therefore declined it, and the following 
gentlemen were named : 

Townsend Cox 
Sherman W. Knevala 
Theodore B. Basselin 

First fire-prevention. 

This act contained the first provisions for fighting fires 
and for preventing them. It provided that the Forest Com- 
mission should have charge of the public interests with refer- 
ence to forest fires in all parts of the State, with power to 
appoint fire-wardens in the different towns. 

Postings. 

Fire notices and warnings were posted throughout the 
forest preserve. 

Plea for money to buy lands. 

The backers of the Forest Law strongly urged the Legis- 
lature to appropriate $1,000,000 for the purpose of buying 
forest lands to protect the wooded reliefs of the State. All 
that was needed could then have been bought for fifty cents, 
and even less, per acre. But the request was so unusual, and 
seemed to many so foolish and exorbitant, that it was met 
with thinly veiled derision. An appropriation of $15,000 for 
the expenses of the Forest Conmiission was voted, but that 
was all. 

1 This section became the nucleus of the constitutional amendment of 1894. 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL I79 

1885 (continued) 
First report of Forest Commission. 1885. 

The Forest Commission now began to issue regular annual 
reports. The first is devoted mainly to fire data gathered 
from all parts of the preserve. It also contains a list of State 
lands, and an excellent map in color showing the relative 
density of the wooded tracts. It also includes a valuable 
"Bibliography of Forestry; a List of Books and Publications 
on Forests and Tree Culture." The titles are grouped ac- 
cording to the libraries that contain them, and ten of the 
largest in the country are included. 

Leasing recommended. 

The leasing of forest lands was first recommended in this 
report. 

1886 

Calvin's second Land Survey report. 

In March of this year Mr. Colvin issued another — the 
second — of his special reports. It bears the title: "Report 
on the Progress of the Adirondack State Land Survey to 
the Year 1886." It is a massive octavo volume of 360 pages, 
crammed with dry statistical matter. It has little of interest 
for the general reader, unless it be the opening pages, which 
explain very clearly and interestingly the infinite detail and 
difficulty of the labor summarized. 

Second report of Forest Commission. 1886. 

The second annual report of the Forest Commission is a 
thin book of only 160 pages. It was compiled by Abner 
Leavenworth Train, secretary of the commission, who excuses 
the meagerness of the volume by explaining the handicaps 
under which the commission had had to work. No office had 
been allotted for its use, so that it had no place properly to 
collect and file statistical matter. What the report lacks in 
this respect, however, is replaced by some very readable 
papers of an educational nature, which make the volume more 
than ordinarily interesting for the casual reader. 



180 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1887 

Report for 1887. 

The report for this year is merely a pamphlet of fourteen 
pages, consisting almost exclusively of recommended changes 
in the forest laws. 

Law permitting sale of lands. 

A law was passed (without the governor's signature) allow- 
ing the comptroller to sell detached parcels of land outside the 
preserve in order to buy land within it. This law was re- 
pealed in 1892. 

Leasing amendment fails. 

An amendment to authorize the leasing of State lands was 
introduced in the Legislature, but failed to pass. 

1888 

Report for 1888. 

The report for this year is in a bound volume again, of the 
usual size, but has no special interest. It embodies the recom- 
mendations in the pamphlet of 1887, and reprints the ''Biblio- 
graphy of Forestry" and the "List of State Lands" from the 
report of 1885. It also contains a special report urging again 
the leading of State lands. 

1889 

Report for 1889. 

The report for this year is a pamphlet again, consisting of 
only three printed pages. It states that a supplemental re- 
port will be submitted before the adjournment of the Legis- 
lature, but if such a report was submitted, it does not appear 
ever to have been, printed. 

1890 

Report for 1890. 

The publication of the report for this year was delayed by 
the sudden death of its compiler Abner L. Train, secretary of 
the Forest Commission. Outside of routine matter it contains 
a compilation of "Recent Legislation pertaining to the Forest 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 181 

1890 (continued) 

Preserve," and '^A Catalogue of Maps, Field-notes, Surveys 
and Land Papers of Patents, Grants, and Tracts in the Forest 
Preserve Counties." 

Special report. 

It also contains a special report (previously submitted) 
bearing the caption: "Shall a Park be established in the Adir- 
ondack Wilderness ? ' ' 

Governor Hill's special message. 

This exhaustive and constructive investigation was the out- 
come of a special message which Governor Hill had sent to 
the Legislature on January 22d. He had referred to the 
Adirondacks in his first annual message of 1885, but had not 
mentioned them in succeeding ones. In the meantime, how- 
ever, he had been made to feel the strong surge of public senti- 
ment in favor of an Adirondack park, and his message on the 
subject was the result of that pressure. It received immedi- 
ate attention, and was referred by the Senate to the Committee 
on Finance, who made a report and recommended a concur- 
rent resolution authorizing the Forest Commission to take the 
governor's message under consideration and report on the 
necessary details for establishing the proposed park. The re- 
sult was the special report mentioned above. It embodied a 
tentative act which became the basis for the creative one of 
1892. 

Origin of the ''blue line." 

With the special report there was issued the reproduction 
of a map which had been prepared by the comptroller's in- 
vestigating commission of 1884. It was reprinted for the 
special purpose of showing two diagrams which were added 
to it — one, in red, showing the limits (excepting outlying de- 
tached parcels) of the Forest Preserve ; and an inner diagram, 
in blue, showing the boundaries of the proposed park. This 
was the origin of the now familiar "blue line," for that color 
has been used ever since in depicting the limits of the Adiron- 
dack Park, 



182 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1890 (continiLed) 

First appropriation. 

The laws of this year authorized the purchase of lands for 
the proposed park at a rate not to exceed $1.50 per acre, and 
an appropriation of $25,000 was made for the purpose. This 
was the first direct appropriation for purchasing lands in the 
forest preserve.^ 

Adirondack Park Association. 

As showing how wide-spread was the agitation for a State 
park in this year, it is of interest to note that the leading 
physicians of New York City took the initiative in forming 
an organization called ^'The Adirondack Park Association.'^ 
Its object was ''the preservation of the Adirondack forests, 
and by practical means the establishment of a State forest 
park therein." The organizers were Drs. Alfred L. Loomis, 
Martin Burke, George H. Fox, W. M. Polk, and E. C. Janeway. 
Dr. Loomis, one of the earliest advocates of the Adirondacks 
as a health resort, was elected president of the association, 
and Mr. John Claflin, vice-president. Many prominent busi- 
ness men became members, and the association rendered valu- 
able aid in bringing about the establishment of an Adirondack 
park, and securing the passage of forestry laws. 

1891 

Colvin's third Land Survey report, 1890-1891. 

Colvin issued another Land Survey report, containing, at 
the back, a report for the year 1890, and between the two 
several special articles of interest : 

"Forests and Forestry" S. Von Dorrien 

"Iron Deposits of the Adirondacks" Georpe Chahoon 

"Adirondack Fishes" Fred Mather 

"Plants of the Summit of Mt. Marcy" Chas. H. Peck 

"Lepidoptera of the Adirondack Region" J. A. Lintner 

"Winter Fauna of Mt. Marcy" Verplanck Colvin 

List of Maps in the Adirondack and State Land 
Survey Reports from 1872 to 189L 

1 The appropriation of $10,000 made in 188.3 was limited to the purchase of 
lands in which the State was a joint owner, and which were sold under judgment 
for partition. 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 183 

1891 (continued) 
Forest Commission report for 1891. 

The Forest Commission report for 1891 contains a very- 
informative and readable article entitled: **The Adirondack 
Park." It gives a narrative description of the leading places 
in the mountains, and the different ways of reaching them, and 
is illustrated with many excellent pictures. It was intended 
to acquaint the public with some of the manifold beauties of 
the proposed park. 

1892 

Report for 1892. 

The Forest Commission report for this year contains little 
of general interest. There is a long list of State lands which 
form the forest preserve, arranged by counties, and the Cata- 
log of Maps, Field-notes, Surveys, and Land-papers of Pat- 
ents and Tracts is reprinted from the report for 1891. 

Adirondack Park created. 

The ADIRONDACK PARK was crcatcd on May 20th of this year 
by ''an act to establish the Adirondack park and to authorize 
the purchase and sale of lands within the counties including 
the forest preserve." 

Section 1 of this Act reads as follows : 

There shall be a state park established within the counties of Hamil- 
ton, Herkimer, St. Lawrence, Franklin, Essex, and Warren, which 
shall be known as the Adirondack park, and which shall, subject to 
the provisions of this act, be forever reserved, maintained and cared 
for as ground open for the free use of all the people for their health 
and pleasure, and as forest lands necessary to the preservation of the 
headwaters of the chief riverj^ of the State, and a future timber 
supply. 

Exchange of lands and leading authorized. 

The act authorized the exchange of lands outside the park 
for those lying within it. It also pennitted the leasing of 
camp sites for a term not to exceed five years, and of not more 
than five acres to one person. 



184 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1893 

Report for 1893, two volumes. 

The report for this year is in two volumes, and the first 
contains much historical matter. There is a lengthy and in- 
structive article on the ''Tracts and Patents of Northern New 
York," in which much information concerning those lesser 
tracts, excluded by their location from this history, will be 
found. 

Macomb Patent. 

There is also a copy of the Macomb Patent, which is a long, 
tiresomely verbose document, enumerating the details of 
boundaries and financial stipulations.^ 

Description of park. 

The end of the volume contains an interesting description of 
the whole Adirondacks, under the caption "Forest and Park." 
This was only another name for the article entitled ''The 
Adirondack Park" in the 1891 report. The demand for this 
was so great that it was reprinted with the addition of some 
new material and many new pictures. 

Legislative abstract. 

The second volume of the 1893 report is devoted entirely 
to an abstract of legislative acts affecting the Adirondacks. 

Undesirable legislation. 

On April 7th Governor Flower, despite strenuous protests, 
signed a bill entitled "An act in relation to the forest preserve 
and Adirondack park," which became Chapter 332 of the Laws 
of 1893, a lengthy act containing many radical changes. Some 
of them were warranted, but some of them were dangerous 
relaxations from existing safeguards. 

Power to sell timber. 

One of the most objectionable of these was the giving of 
discretionary power to the Forest Commission to sell matured 

1 A copy of the Macomb Patent, with field notes of the original survey, will 
also be found in the Report of the State Engineer and Surveyor of Sept. 30, 1903. 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 185 

1893 (continued) 
and standing timber of a certain size. This and other threat- 
ening features of the measure caused the New York Board of 
Trade and Transportation and the Brooklyn Constitution 
Club to lead a publicity campaign against it. They were 
not able to defeat it, but there is Httle doubt that its becoming 
a law in the face of their protests helped to solidify pubhc 
opinion in favor of a constitutional safeguard for the forests. 

Commission increased to five members. 

Under this act the Forest Commission was increased from 
three to five members, appointed by the governor. The old 
commissioners ceased to hold office, and the following new ones 
were named: 

Francis B. Babcock, President, Hornellsville, N. Y. 
Samuel J. Tilden of New Lebanon, N. Y. 
Clarkson C. Schuyler of Plattsburg, N. Y. 
Nathan Straus of New York, N. Y. 
William R. Weed of Potsdam, N. Y. 

New definition of Forest Preserve. 

The definition of the Forest Preserve was slightly changed 
and made to read as follows : 

Section 100. The forest preserve shall include the lands now owned 
or hereafter acquired by the State within the counties of Clinton [ex- 
cept the towns of Altona and Dannemora],^ Delaware, Essex, Frank- 
lin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Oneida, Saratoga, St. Law- 
rence, Warren, Washington, Greene, Ulster, and Sullivan, except 

1. Lands within the limits of any village or city, and 

2. Lands, not wild lands, acquired by the State on foreclosure of 
mortgage made to the commissioners for loaning certain moneys of 
the United States usually called the United States deposit fund. 

New definition of Adirondack Park. 

The definition of the Adirondack Park was made more pre- 
cise (see 1892) by naming the Towns to be included in it: 

Section 120. All lands now owned or hereafter acquired by the 

1 The brackets are mine for the sake of clearness, and the counties in italics 
are new ones. 



186 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1893 (continued) 

State within the county of Hamilton ; the towns of Newcomb, Minerva, 
Schroon, North Hudson, Keene, North Elba, St. Armand, and Wil- 
mington in the county of Essex; the towns of narrietstown, Santa 
Clara, Altamont, Waverly and Brighton, in the county of Franklin; 
the town of Wilmurt, in the county of Herkimer ; the towns of Hop- 
kinton, Colton, Clifton, and Fine, in the county of St, Lawrence, and 
the towns of Johnsburg, Stony Creek, and Thurman, and the islands 
in Lake George, in the county of Warren, except such lands as may 
be sold as provided in this article, shall constitute the Adirondack 
park. Such park shall be forever reserved, maintained and cared 
for as ground open for the free use of all the people for their health 
and pleasure, and as forest lands necessary to the preservation of the 
headwaters of the chief rivers of the State and a future timber supply, 
and shall remain part of the forest preserve. 

Opposition justified. 

Before the year was out there was ample proof that the 
opposition to the most pernicious feature of this act — Section 
103, allo\^dn^ the sale of timber — was fully justified. The fol- 
lowing quotation ^ summarizes the mischievous situation it 
created : 

Under this law of 1893, wood-cutting operations of enormous extent 
were projected, and contracts were entered into by the Forest Commis- 
sion itself, which, being made subject to the approval of the Com- 
missioners of the Land Office, were submitted to the judgment of the 
State Engineer and Sur\'eyor, who advised against the making of the 
contracts, whereupon an attempt was made in the Legislature to de- 
prive the Commissioners of the Land Office of their approving power, 
and at this point the advocates of forest protection became satisfied 
that it could no longer be safely left to the Commission and the Legis- 
lature. 

1894 

Colvin's fourth Land Survey report. 

Colvin issued a Land Survey report covering the years 1888, 
1889, 1890, 1891, 1892, 1893. This volume contains the same 

1 From an Opinion of Hon. Joseph H. Choate, written Dec. 15, 1905, at the 
request of the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks, in the matter of 
the applications to the River Improvement Commission. 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 187 

1894 {continued) 

special articles that were published in the 1890-1891 report, 
which it also includes. 

Last report of Forest Commission, 1894. 

The Forest Commission report contains special articles on 
forest associations and commissions in other States, and an 
exhaustive and highly technical treatise on the Adirondack 
Black Spruce by William F. Fox. It is the last report issued 
by the Forest Commission, which was legislated out of office 
the following year. 

Constitutional amendment. 

This was the second red-letter year in Adirondack history, 
for it saw the birth, the adoption, and the ratification of the 
first Forest Amendment to be written into the State Constitu- 
tion. It is a story of such interest and importance as to war- 
rant teUing in detail. 



THE STORY OF SECTION 7. ARTICLE VII OF THE STATE 
CONSTITUTION 

THE value of State lands had been steadily increasing 
since 1883, when their sale had been prohibited by law. 
Those who wanted them, however, found an easy way of cir- 
cumventing the intention of the statute by attacking the valid- 
ity of the State 's title to lands acquired through tax sales, and 
thus forcing their relinquishment. The creation of a Forest 
Commission in 1885 seemed to stimulate this traffic rather 
than to abate it, as had naturally been expected, and within a 
decade about 100,000 acres of land were thus lost to the Forest 
Preserve. During the same period systematic lumber-steal- 
ing was going on with so little effectual interference from the 
State authorities as to spread a strong suspicion of their 
connivance with the wrong-doers. A later investigation and 
report of these timber thefts showed them to have reached 
ominous proportions and to have been carried on with the 
most complacent contempt of the law. 

The last straw in killing any public confidence that was left 



188 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1894 (continued) 

in the administration of the forests, came in 1893, when, after 
a legislative investigation, a new Forest Commission of five 
members was created. Instead of wisely curtailing its powers, 
however, the new act greatly increased them, and at the same 
time annulled many of the wise restraints which the law of 
1885 had until then imposed. The new Forest Commission 
was authorized to sell timber of a certain described character 
standing in any part of the Forest Preserve. This was throw- 
ing the lid dangerously wide open, just when public senti- 
ment demanded that it be closed more tightly. 

Before the bill was signed the Forest Committee of the New 
York Board of Trade and Transportation and a Special Com- 
mittee of the Brooklyn Constitution Club made strong appeals 
to Governor Flower to withhold his signature, but these and 
other protests proved unavailing. The bill was signed and 
became a law — and an added incentive to friends of the forests 
to place them beyond the reach of legislative tampering. 

Following the governor's disappointing action a disheart- 
ened meeting of the above-mentioned committees took place, 
and as it was breaking up, Mr. Frank S. Gardner, secretary 
of the New York Board of Trade and Transportation, made 
this remark: '*I am convinced that the forests will never be 
made safe until they are put into the State Constitution." It 
was a sigh that proved an inspiration, and became the casual 
genesis of Section 7 of Article VII of the Constitution — mak- 
ing Mr. Gardner the father of that vastly important amend- 
ment. 

His remark was caught up and made at once the subject of 
serious discussion, with the result that the Board of Trade 
appointed a Special Committee on Constitutional Amend- 
ments to act with their Forest Committee in securing consti- 
tutional protection for the woods. These two committees con- 
sisted of the following members : 

SPECIAL FORESTRY COMMITTEE 

OF THE 

NEW YORK BOARD OF TRADE AND TRANSPORTATION 

Edmund Philo Martin, Chairman (Geo. F. Nesbitt & Co.) 
Joseph J. O'Donohue (City Chamberlain.) 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 189 

1894 {continued) 

Simon Sterne (Attorney and Counselor.) 

John H. Washburn (Vice-Pres. Home Insurance Co.) 

William B. Boorum (Boorum &. Pease.) 

Edwin S. Marston (Sec'y Farmers' Loan and Trust Co.) 

Peter F. Schofield (Dry Goods Commission.) 

SPECIAL CO^DIITTEE ON CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS 

OF THE 

NEW YORK BOARD OF TRADE AND TRANSPORTATION 
Simon Sterne, Chairman (Attorney and Counselor.) 
William Brookfield (Pres't Bushwick Glass Co.) 
John W. Vrooman (Life Insurance.) 
Elias S. A. De Lima (D. A. De Lima & Co.) 
William H. Arnoux (Arnoux, Rich & Woodford.) 

Mr. Edmund P. Martin, Mr. Frank S. Gardner, and Mr. 
Peter F. Schofield, who, as we have seen, were prominently 
identified with the first forestry laws of 1885, formed a trium- 
virate of forest crusaders that became known in Albany as 
**the forestry bigots." But it was the idealistic bigotry of 
these veterans of an earlier fight that bore the brunt and bur- 
den of the present one. 

The plan to have forest-protection written into the funda- 
mental law of the State was greatly facilitated by the ap- 
proach of the Constitutional Convention of 1894. It per- 
mitted the amendment, if adopted, to be presented to the 
people at the next election, whereas the usual procedure re- 
quired the approval of two legislatures and the lapse of two 
years. As the lawmakers at Albany had shown themselves 
to be under influences frankly hostile to conservative meas- 
ures, there w^as added reason for seizing the opportunity of- 
fered by the coming convention. 

Soon after it met, notices were sent out that no amend- 
ments received after a certain date would be considered. This 
caused Mr. Gardner and Mr. Schofield to bestir themselves 
somewhat hurriedly. They came together at once and com- 
pleted the draft of their proposed measure. It was then sub- 
mitted to a joint session of the Board of Trade committees, 
and by them approved. Besides the proposed amendment 
there was a memorial in its behalf. The latter, a scholarly 



190 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1894 (continued) 

plea for adoption, was written almost exclusively by Mr. 
Schofield ; the former by Mr. Gardner. 

The nucleus of the amendment was based on Section 8 of 
the Forest Laws of 1885, which read : ' * The lands now or here- 
after constituting the forest preserve shall be forever kept as 
wild forest lands. They shall not be sold, nor shall they be 
leased or taken by any person or corporation, public or pri- 
vate." The further sections of the proposed amendment, 
which were somewhat lengthy, prescribed the management of 
the forests under a single head, and authorized the leasing of 
camp sites. 

This document was carried to Albany by William F. McCon- 
nell. Assistant Secretary of the Board of Trade and Trans- 
portation, and placed in the hands of Hon. David McClure of 
New York, a Democratic delegate to the convention, whose 
strong sympathies with the forest movement were well known. 
There followed a conference in the Speaker's room, at which 
some of the leading members were present, including Hon. 
Elihu Root and Hon. Joseph H. Choate, the president of the 
convention. At the close of this conference Mr. Choate turned 
to Mr. McConnell and said: ''You have brought here the most 
important question before this assembly. In fact, it is the 
only question that warrants the existence of this convention." 

This was strong language and high praise, and the impres- 
sion it created was profound. Especially did it thrill the 
"forest bigots," who had no foreknowledge of how their pro- 
posal might be received. As a matter of fact it was cordially 
welcomed by the entire convention. Even the delegates from 
the wooded regions of the Adirondacks, whose opposition had 
been reasonably expected, gave it the most ungrudging sup- 
port. 

Colonel McClure introduced the amendment on August 1, 
1894, in a stirring speech, at the close of which President 
Choate congratulated him on having brought forward in so 
able a manner so momentous a measure. 

When it first reached the convention the work of that body 
was well under way and its committees had all been appointed. 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 191 

1894 (continued) 
Nor was there any to which it could be properly assigned, for 
no other forest matter had been offered for consideration. 
Mr. Choate, therefore, named a special committee to deal with 
it, and appointed Colonel McClure as chairman. This was 
both a very unusual and a very gracious thing to do. It was 
unusual because Colonel McClure was a Democrat, and the 
convention had a Republican majority to whom, in consequence 
and by precedent, the chainnanship of all committees should 
have been given; it was gracious because it ignored political 
distinctions in order to place this important measure under 
the most friendly and fitting guardianship. 

The committee of which Colonel McClure thus enjoyed the 
unique distinction of being made chairman, was composed of 
the following members : 

David McClure, Chairman 
John G. Mclntyre of St. Lawrence 
Amos H. Peabody of Columbia 
Chester B. McLaughlin of Essex 
Charles S. Mereness of Lewis 

This committee gave the proposed amendment the most 
careful, exhaustive, and intelligent consideration. It was in 
hearty agreement with the fundamental suggestions it con- 
tained, but thought it would gain both in strength and favor 
by being more compact. It argued that once the forest lands 
had been made impregnable to all the disguises of greed, their 
management might safely be left to the Legislature. Little 
by little, therefore, they cut off the meat of non-essentials, 
and finally reported this bare, unbreakable bone of forest 
protection : 

The lands of the State, now owned or hereafter acquired, con- 
stituting the forest preserve as fixed by law, shall be forever kept as 
wild forest lands. They shall not be leased, sold, or exchanged, or 
be taken by any corporation, public or private, nor shall the timber 
thereon be sold or removed. 

In the discussion which followed it occurred to Judge 
William P. Goodelle of Syracuse to propose the addition of 



192 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1894 {continued) 

the single word destroyed. This was accepted, and the last 
clause of the amendment was made to read: "nor shall the 
timber therein be sold, removed, or destroyed." 

This eleventh-hour suggestion was nothing short of a God- 
sent inspiration. All deemed it a wise and strengthening 
addition, but it is doubtful if any one at the time, even its 
originator, foresaw the full range of its potentialities. With- 
out it, despite all the care and thought that had been lavished 
on the amendment, there would have been no prohibition cover- 
ing the destruction of trees by flooding, and the loophole thus 
left for the building of dams would have been most dangerous. 
But Judge Goodelle detected the tiny hole in the dike just in 
time, and by putting his finger in it prevented many a disas- 
trous flood. By seeming to do a very little thing for the 
woods, he actually did a very big one. 

On the evening of September 8, 1894, in an eloquent address, 
Colonel McClure presented the revised amendment to the con- 
vention in committee of the whole. He finished his speech 
amid uproarious applause, and the amendment was unani- 
mously advanced to the order of a third reading. On Sep- 
tember 13th, it was adopted by the unanimous vote of 122 to 0. 
It was the only amendment to be so honored,^ not only in the 
Constitutional Convention of 1894, but in any previous one 
held in the State. 

There was a trifling coincidence connected with its adoption 
that, while of no importance, was yet of sufficient curious 
human interest to be recorded here. Mr. E. P. Martin, chair- 
man of the Forest Committee of the Board of Trade, and 
ardent co-worker with Mr. Gardner and Mr. Schofield for the 
amendment, was a man of some avowed superstitions. A pet 
one centered around the number 7, which he held to have bib- 
lical sanction and great potency in helping to achieve any good 
result. Ho therefore always invoked its aid in any scheme 
on which he had set his heart. He had set his heart very par- 
ticularly on writing the Forest Amendment into the Constitu- 
tion. So he began his work by heading a committee of seven 

1 Out of 400 amendments submitted to the Convention, only 33 were adopted. 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 193 

1894 (continued) 

members and calling them together for the first time on the 
seventh day of the month, and doing many other things in con- 
junction with his lucky number. When he went to Albany to 
follow the fate of the amendment there, he insisted on having 
room No. 7 at the hotel. Imagine his surprise and delight, 
therefore, when the adopted amendment took its place in the 
Constitution, by mere&t chance of course, as Section 7 of 
Article VII. His joy at the coincidence is said to have been 
seven times seven. 
The vote at the polls on the amendment was : 

410,697 for 
327,402 against 

83,295 majority 

This small majority was not an accurate reflection of popu- 
lar sentiment, but a result of complicated voting. Out of the 
hundreds of amendments offered to the Constitutional Con- 
vention thirty-three only were chosen for submission to the 
people. These were divided into three ballots, one devoted 
to the canals, one to apportionment, and one to the remaining 
thirty-one amendments collectively. The Forestry Amend- 
ment, despite vigorous protests, w^as included in the miscel- 
lany, and undoubtedly suffered from the inclusion. Much of 
its company was unpopular with both parties, but especially 
with the Democrats, who were instructed to vote "No" on all 
the propositions in the collective ballot, as the surest way of 
defeating the objectionable ones. In view of this, fhe fact 
that the Forestry Amendment was carried at all is more sur- 
prising than the fact that it was carried by so narrow a mar- 
gin. 

The experience of the years fully justified this ''Gibraltar 
of Forestry," as Mr. Schofield has aptly termed it. Its best 
friends were quite aware, however, that it embodied the wis- 
dom of necessity, and not of choice. The need of the moment 
called for forest-salvation pure and simple ; it allowed no play 
to the desire for scientific development. The forests of the 
Old World had always been, of course, the ideal for enthusi- 



194 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1894 (continued) 
asts in the New; but these enthusiasts had been forced to 
realize that the dream of imitation was incompatible with 
our existing political uncertainties. An apostolic permanency 
of purpose, backed by trained eflSciency and honest service, 
make the essentials of ideal forest management. They were 
once hoped and striven for by our forest crusaders ; they were 
virtually abandoned as chimerical in 1894. 

The friends of the forest then found themselves in the plight 
of the man whose country home is being constantly pillaged 
despite supposed police protection. He is forced to put iron 
bars across his doors and windows. They add no beauty to 
the place, but they keep out the thieves — which happens to be 
the paramount necessity. To carry the simile a little farther, 
it may be said that while the bars were being attached to the 
front of the forest house, an attempt was being made to enter 
it from the rear. 

The new amendment went into effect on January 1, 1895. 
Less than a week before that date three out of the five mem- 
bers of the Forest Commission met behind closed doors and 
granted a right of way across lands of the Forest Preserve 
to the Adirondack Railway Company, controlled by the Dela- 
ware and Hudson Canal Company. The railroad ^vished to 
extend its line from North Creek to Long Lake, and five or six 
miles of the proposed route lay over State lands. 

It was thought that the State Land Board would have power 
to make this grant, and an application was laid before it. A 
hearing was given at which there was more argument in favor 
of the grant than against it. The main question, however, 
was whether or not the board had power to act, and on this 
point the members were divided. Attorney-General Hancock, 
who sat on the board, rendered an opinion denying its power 
to act, and called attention to a similar ruling made by the 
attorney-general in 1891, when the Adirondack and St. Law- 
rence Railroad had applied for a right of way over State lands. 
But all further discussion of the matter was brought to a 
sudden stop by the serving of an injunction on each individual 
member of the board who was present. This paralyzing 
action was taken by an outsider Henry W. Boyer, who owned 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 195 

1894 {continued) 
land along the line of the proposed grant. This injunction 
fell like a bomb into the camp of the grabbers. It was par- 
ticularly disconcerting because their time for action was get- 
ting so short. January 1, 1895, was only a few days away, 
and if they did not secure their grant by that time, the iron 
gates of the new Forestry Amendment would automatically 
close upon their opportunity. Of tliis they were well aware. 
Then was staged one of those high-handed, high-'flavored epi- 
sodes that give a touch of paprika to political intrigues. 

It was known that a majority of the Forest Commission was 
ready to do what the Land Board had just been restr'aiiied 
from doing. An immediate meeting of the- Forest Commis- 
sion — the supposed guardians of the forest — was therefore ar- 
ranged. The moment was propitious for the object in view. 
President Babcock, of the commission, was out of toAvn, and 
no effort was made to reach him. Mr. Nathan Straus, another 
conscientious commissioner who might have made trouble, 
was in Europe. Mr. McClure and Mr. Martin who, on behalf 
of the Board of Trade, had been following events in the Land 
Board, had started for home, thinking all danger of the grant 
was over. The field was therefore enticingly clear of bother- 
some meddlers, and full advantage was taken of their absence. 

The two members of the Forest Commission who were in 
Albany, Samuel J. Tilden and W. R. Weed, and the vice- 
president of the railroad company met in a private room of the 
Delavan House at seven o'clock on the evening of December 
27, 1894. Here they waited for the arrival of a third member 
of the Forest Commission, whose presence was necessary to 
make a quorum. This gentleman Dr. Clarkson C. Schuyler 
was at his home in Plattsburg when this sudden meeting was 
called. In the ordinary course of events he could not have 
reached Albany that evening. But the ordinary course of 
events was suspended throughout this affair; the extraor- 
dinary was substituted. The railroad people were so anxious 
to have Dr. Schuyler on hand that they placed a special engine 
and car at his disposal and brought him down to Albany in 
record-breaking time. No such effort was made, however, to 
secure Dr. Babcock 's attendance. About 8.30 p. m. Dr. Schuy- 



196 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1894 {cojitinued) 

ler joined his colleagues at the Delavan House, and imme- 
diately voted with them to grant the Adirondack Railway Com- 
pany a right of way over virgin State lands. 

As soon as this star-chamber proceeding became known, 
it aroused very general indignation. The friends of the for- 
est, including Dr. Babcock himself, secured an injunction de- 
claring the action of the Forest Commission null and void. A 
few days later the constitutional amendment went into effect 
and put a definite quietus on any similar abuse of the forest 
stewardship. 

How galling the new restraint proved to all self-seeking 
interests is shown by the fact that not a year has passed since 
it became operative without some attempt being made through 
the Legislature to modify it. None succeeded till the year 
1913. 

1895 

Legislature prepares new amendment. 

The Legislature began within ten days to lay the foundation 
of an attack on the new amendment by passing one intended 
to modify it. This measure received the necessary approval 
of the succeeding Legislature, and was submitted to the people 
in 1896, under which date it will receive more extended notice. 

Fisheries, Game, and Forest Commission created. 

The Forest Commission was legislated out of office and 
replaced by the Fisheries, Game, and Forest Commission — 
which was simply a merging of these two separate commis- 
sions into one. There was no obvious gain for the Adiron- 
dacks in the merger. The new commissioners were: 

Barnet H. Davis, President 
Henry H. Lyman 
Charles H. Babcock 
William R. Weed 
Edward Thompson 

First report with colored plates, 1895. 

The first report of the Fisheries, Game, and Forest Commis- 
sion inaugurated a series (ten volumes, extending to 1909 in- 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 197 

1895 (continued) 
elusive) of very elaborate and expensive reports. They are 
quarto volumes (8x11), printed on glazed paper, in large type, 
and containing many full-page illustrations, and very beauti- 
ful colored plates of fish and game. Of these the preface 
says: '^When the Commissioners came to determine the scope 
of this report, it seemed to be best that some of the fishes of 
the State should be figured, and as figures in black and white 
appear to lack something, figures of some of the fishes in col- 
ors were decided upon. These color-drawings have been re- 
produced so exactly that no colored figures of fishes in exist- 
ence exceed them for truthfulness or beauty of execution. 
They are absolutely faithful reproductions, which can be said 
of no other work of this kind." 

These claims are fully justified. The demand for the re- 
ports was wide-spread and far exceeded the supply, which was 
limited by law. Indi\^duals, scientific bodies, and libraries, 
both here and abroad, became eager to possess these unusual 
books, and copies of them are to be found in public and private 
collections all over the world. The articles they contain, espe- 
cially those on fish-culture, have great value for the specialist, 
but those having an exclusive Adirondack interest are few. 

1896 

Second report; John Brown's Farm, 1896. 

The second report of the Fisheries, Game, and Forest Com- 
mission contains the usual special articles, mainly on fish 
and game, with a few on forestry. The colored plates are of 
fish, birds, oysters, and enemies of the oyster. A special feat- 
ure of Adirondack interest is a lengthy and well-illustrated 
article on ' ' The John Brown Farm. ' ' The Legislature passed 
a law, signed by the governor on March 25, 1896, by which it 
accepted the deed of gift of the farm from Henry Clews and 
his wife. The formal acceptance was made the occasion of 
special exercises at the farm on July 21, 1896, and these are 
fully reported in the above article, as well as in Chapter XXXI 
of this work. A peculiar and interesting; situation to which 
the report calls attention was that created by the occupancy 
of State lands under lease. 



198 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1896 {continued) 
Problem of leased lands. 

The law of 1892 authorized the Forest Commission to lease 
camp sites; the constitutional amendment of 1894 prohibited 
leasing. In the meantime seventeen leases had been made 
in the forest preserve, but only eight of them were in the park 
— four on Raquette Lake, three on the Lower Saranac, and 
one on Chapel Pond. The others were on Lake George. 

As these leases could not be renewed at their expiration, a 
nice legal question arose as to what should be done with the 
buildings which tenants had erected. The solution later de- 
cided upon was to tear down all permanent buildings found 
on State land. 

Attack on Section 7. 

This year saw the completion of preparations for the first 
attack on Section 7 of Article VII of the Constitution. With- 
in ten days after its adoption by the people Senator Malby 
had introduced an amendment to modify it, which, passed by 
the Legislature of 1895, was passed again at this session, and 
was submitted to the people at the November elections. It 
met, however, with an overwhelming defeat. It read as fol- 
lows: 

The lands of the State, now owned or hereafter acquired, consti- 
tuting the Forest Preserve as now fixed by law, shall be forever kept 
as wild forest lands. Except as authorized by this section, they shall 
not be leased, sold, or exchanged, to be taken by any corporation, 
public or private, nor shall the timber thereon be sold, removed or 
destroyed. The Legislature may authorize the leasing, for such terms 
as it may fix by law, of a parcel of not more than five acres of land 
in the Forest Preserve, to any one person for camp and cottage pur- 
poses. The Legislature may also authorize the exchange of lands 
owned by the State situate outside the Forest Preserve, for lands not 
owned by the State, situate within the Forest Preserve. The Legis- 
lature may also authorize the sale of lands belonging to the State, 
situate outside the Forest Preserve, but the money so obtained shall 
not be used except for the purchase of lands situate within the Forest 
Preserve, and which, when so purchased, shall become a part of the 
Forest Preserve. 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 199 

ISdQ (continued) 
Big vote against amendment. 

As to the merits of the suggested changes, it is suflScient to 
call attention to the fact that they had all been thoroughly 
discussed in the Constitutional Convention of 1894, and had 
been unanimously voted down. In view of this, their- revival 
within the shortest possible time limit was a bit of political 
effrontery that roused widespread indignation and received a 
notable rebuke. Nor were matters helped by an open letter 
signed by Barnet H. Davis, president of the Fisheries, Game, 
and Forest Commission, and widely circulated. This letter 
claimed that neither the present commission nor its predeces- 
sors had anything to do with the passage of the amendment, 
but strongly urged its adoption. It concluded with these 
words: ''We believe the amendment a desirable one, and 
officially recommend its adoption. We ask every citizen to 
vote on the question aiid vote for it." The advice worked as 
a boomerang. It drew forth the largest vote ever cast against 
a constitutional amendment — a defeating majority of 411,000. 
The official count was less, however, because 22,000 negative 
ballots were thrown out on account of a technical error in 
the printing. Thus ignominiously ended the first assault on 
the ''Gibraltar of Forestry." 

1897 

Third commission report, 1897. 

The third report of the Fisheries, Game, and Forest Com- 
mission contains the usual special articles, principally on fish 
and game. For the Adirondacks there are long statistical 
tables of wood-consumption and manufacture, also some "For- 
estry Tracts," by William F. Fox — little educational preach- 
ments. 

Forest Preserve Board. 

Acting on a suggestion in Governor Black's annual message, 
the Legislature passed a law creating a Forest Preserve Board 
of three members. To this board was given exclusive power 
to acquire, by purchase or condemnation, lands or waters 



200 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 
1897 {continued) 

within the Adirondack Park. An appropriation of $600,000 
was made, and the comptroller was authorized to borrow 
$400,000 more, if necessary, for the same purpose. This 
board lasted for four years and issued four annual reports. 
These contain nothing but statistical matter, and have become 
exceedingly scarce. 

1898 

Fourth commission report, 1898. 

The fourth report of the Fisheries, Game, and Forest Com- 
mission contains the usual articles on fish and game, and the 
following ones of special Adirondack interest : 

"Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium" E. L. Trudeau, M. D. 

"Adirondack Forestry Problems" B. E. Fernow 

"Bibliography of the Adirondacks" Cecelia A. Sherrill 

This bibliography was the first of its kind, and the only one 
until the later compilation for this history was undertaken. 

*' Through the Adirondachs in Eighteen Days." 

A resolution was passed in the Assembly on March 31st, 
authorizing the appointment of a committee of nine **to in- 
vestigate as to what more lands shall be acquired mthin the 
Forest Preserve in order to protect the water sheds, and for 
the Agricultural Experimental Station." This committee 
was appointed in August, and Captain James H. Pierce of 
Bloomingdale, Essex County, was made chairman. He called 
the members together at the end of August, and they started 
from Saratoga for a trip through the Adirondacks. They 
made a report which was published under date of February 9, 
1899 (Assembly Doc. No. 43). Their findings and recom- 
mendations cover but a few pages, and the bulk of the volume 
is taken up by an Appendix of 119 pasfos, which is by far the 
most interesting part of the book. It boars the title ' * Through 
the Adirondacks in Eighteen Days," and was written by Mar- 
tin V. B. Ives, one of the committee. It is the story of the 
trip, interspersed with bits of history and legend, and illus- 
trated with many excellent and unusual photographs. It is 
altogether an entertaining contribution to Adirondack lore. 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 201 

1899 

Serioios fires. 

In this year very extensive and dangerous fires broke out 
all over the Adirondacks. A drought of unusual length had 
prepared the way for them. They started in Hamilton 
County on August 6th, and within a few days others had flared 
up, almost simultaneously, all over the region. Fortunately 
they were mostly on cleared and waste lands, the trees of the 
denser forest being in full leaf and so in a measure protected. 
But the danger to them was very great, for the multiplicity 
of the fires made it almost impossible to fight them all at the 
same time, and showed the existing system to be totally in- 
adequate. In some localities there were not enough men. 
In others there was manifest reluctance by Town officials to 
call out the necessary number on account of the expense in- 
volved. Many men, moreover, flatly refused to help on ac- 
count of the slowness of the pay they would receive. The 
situation was so serious that one of the forest commissioners 
was obliged to go to Albany and consult with Governor Roose- 
velt and Comptroller Morgan. They arranged for emergency 
measures, and the fires were finally extinguished. Surpris- 
ingly little damage had been done to the heavy timber, but it 
was a warning of what might happen and of what did happen 
very soon. 

Fifth report, 1899. 

The fifth annual report of the Fisheries, Game, and Forest 
Commission has two special features of Adirondack interest, 
a detailed report on the fires of this year, and a lengthy illus- 
trated article on the ''Beginnings of Professonal Forestry in 
the Adirondacks, " by B. E. Femow, Director of the New York 
State College of Forestry at Cornell University. 

Plans for College of Forestry. 

This contains the full details of the plans for an experiment 
which was the first of its kind in the Adirondacks — and bids 
fair to be the last. It was intended as an attempt to emulate 
the educational methods of European forestry, and as such 



202 A HISTOEY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1899 {continued) 

was watched with wide-spread interest and many high hopes. 
Its questionable progress and rather sudden collapse elicited 
so much comment and discussion at the time that it became a 
conspicuous episode in Adirondack history. 

STORY OF THE CORNECLL COLLEGE OF FORESTRY 

BY Chapter 122 of the Laws of 1898, the State of New 
York provided for the creation of a State College of 
Forestry under the auspices of Cornell University. The act 
authorized the State to pay for a tract of forest land in the 
Adirondacks, of which the university should have the title, 
possession, management, and control for thirty years. At the 
end of that time the land was to revert to the State. 

The tract was to be used to ''plant, raise, cut and sell timber 
at such times, of such species and quantities, and in such man- 
ner as it may deem best, with a view to obtaining and impart- 
ing knowledge concerning the scientific management and use 
of forests, their regulation and administration, the production 
and harvesting, and reproduction of wood crops and earning 
a revenue therefrom." 

Dr. B. E. Femow, a professional forester, was appointed 
director of the college. He had received his training in the 
Forest Academy of Prussia, and for six years had been con- 
nected with forest administration in that country. He came 
to America in 1876, and had charge of a large timber tract 
belonging to Cooper, Hewitt & Co. in Pennsylvania. From 
there, in 1885, he went to Washington as Chief of the Forestry 
Division of the United States, where he remained until asked 
to become the head of the new College of Forestry in 1898. 
The offer was made to him after a careful search for the best 
fitted man for the position. While in Washington he had be- 
come secretary of the American Forestry Association, and 
later became its vice-president. He was the author of ''The 
History of Forestry in All Countries" and "Economics of 
Forestry," two standard works that were used as text-books 
by the Yale Forestr>' School and elsewhere. He was, in short, 
a thoroughly trained and equipped forester, but he was not, 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 203 

1899 {continued) 
as the event proved, so good a business manager. After leav- 
ing the Cornell College of Forestry he became Dean of the 
Faculty of Forestry of Toronto University, Canada. 

The land finally agreed upon, with the necessary approval 
of the Forest Preserve Board, was a tract of 30,000 acres in 
Frankhn County, including a small strip of Township 26, and 
the entire west half of Township 23, which is divided by 
Upper Saranac Lake. The approximate center of the prop- 
erty was at Axton, at the south end of the old Indian Carry, 
on the Eaquette River. This is an old lumber settlement 
that owes its name to having been originally called Axe-town. 
It is about thirteen miles from Tupper Lake village by road. 
Here the college established its field headquarters, using at 
first the buildings they found there, and gradually erecting 
some new ones. 

This tract was bought from the Santa Clara Lumber Co. for 
$165,000 and the entire purchase price was paid by the State, 
out of the moneys appropriated for the acquisition of land in 
the forest preserve. The original act allowed $10,000 for 
expenses, and the Legislature appropriated the same sum 
annually in 1899, 1900,^901, and 1902. These appropriations 
were used mainly for the salaries of the director and his 
assistants. An extra appropriation of $30,000 was made in 
1899 and again in 1900. These sums were designated as 
''working capital for improving, maintaining, and administer- 
ing" the affairs of the college. 

The regular annual appropriation of $10,000 was inserted in 
the Appropriation Bill of 1903, but, owing to the hue and cry 
which had been raised against the college, it was vetoed by 
Governor Odell. In consequence of this action, which de- 
prived the university of State support, it closed its College of 
Forestry in June, 1903, and dismissed Director Fernow, For 
nearly a j^ear more, however, it continued to cut wood on the 
college tract under an appropriation for cleaning up and re- 
planting. 

This was necessitated by a contract which the university 
had entered into, in May, 1900, with the Brookljai Cooperage 
Company, and by which it was bound to cut and deliver wood 



204 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1899 (continued) 
off the college tract for at least fifteen years. The contract 
was made with the avowed purpose of clearing the land so that 
it could be replanted, but both profit and benefit were expected 
from the expedient. It yielded both — but for the Cooperage 
Company only. The price at which the university agreed to 
cut and deliver their wood proved to be less than the dual 
operation cost them. This robbed them of the funds they 
expected to use for replanting, and allowed the denudation 
process to assume a lamentable ascendancy. 

As part of the contract the Brooklyn Cooperage Company 
erected a stave-and-heading factorj^ to use the logs, and a 
wood-alcohol plant to use the cordwood, in the village of Tup- 
per Lake. It also built a logging railway from the village 
to the college tract — a distance of about four miles. This 
alone involved the destruction of all the trees, to a width of 
twenty-five yards, along the line of the tracks. 

The relation of this contract to the purposes for which the 
College of Forestry had been created and financed is so clearly 
set forth and summarized in the opinion rendered by Justice 
Chester of the Supreme Court, Albany Special Term, in June, 
1910, that I quote in part from that review of the case :^ 

The contract, which was not in the name of the State, but of the 
University, was made, as held by the Court of Appeals, under a ''re- 
stricted agency," and the Cooperate Company knew or were bound 
to know the restrictions upon the powers of the agent, and that as 
such restricted agent it could only legally act within the powers granted 
and in furtherance of the purposes of the act of 1898. That con- 
ferred no power or authority to the University to incur any obliga- 
tions of any character in excess of the amount appropriated by the 
act and outside of such purposes. 

The University, it is true, under the law had the power to "cut and 
sell timber at such times, of such species and quantities and in such 
manner as it may deem best," but such power was required to be 
exercised "with a view to obtaining and imparting knowledge con- 
cerning the scientific management and use of forests, their regulation 

1 Printed Case on Appeal. In the Supreme Court of the State of New York. 

Appellate Division. Third Department. People of the State of New York 

against The Brooklyn Cooperage Co. and Cornell University. The Argus Co., 
printers. Albany, 1911. 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 205 

2 

1899 {continued) 
and administration, the production, harvesting and reproduction of 
wood crops and earning a revenue therefrom," and it was required 
to conduct such "experiments in forestry as it may deem most advan- 
tageous to the interests of the State and the advancement of the science 
of forestry." The prime purpose of the act, and it was so stated in 
the title, was "to promote education in fo^estrJ^" Everything in the 
law, and all the powers therein conferred, were aimed to accomplish 
that purpose. The law confers no power upon the University to bind 
the State for a period of fifteen years or to bind it to cut and remove 
one-fifteenth of the wood and timber standing on the college forest 
in each year during that time, and especially not under a contract 
which would have the effect, if executed, of completely defeating the 
purposes of the act. 

In providing for clearing the entire tract in fifteen years the Uni- 
versity was deprived to a large extent of the power of experimental 
forestry, which was one of the purposes of the act. It is evident that 
one of the purposes of the Legislature in authorizing the sale of timber 
and wood was to render the College self-supporting by earning a 
revenue therefrom. Under the contract there could be no net reve- 
nues, as expenses exceeded the income. The Cooperage Company 
suffered no loss because of the increased cost of labor and supplies, 
and received all the benefit of the increased and increasing price of 
lumber. The cutting and selling under such conditions were not and 
could not be conducted at a profit, but were conducted at considerable 
and increasing loss. The contract, therefore, was the means whereby 
this purpose was completely defeated. . . . 

About 3,100 acres of the College Forest were cleared of their timber 
during the comparatively brief time the College was in operation, 
but only about 440 of these were replanted. At this rate, if the con- 
tract was to be executed, a very considerable portion of the College 
Forest would be practically denuded of its trees during the life of the 
contract for the benefit of a private industry and not for the promo- 
tion of education in forestry. , . . There is proof in the case that 500 
acres were sufficient for conducting experiments on the "clear cut- 
ting" system of forestry as distinguished from the "selection sys- 
tem. ' ' 

The replanting of a cleared forest is a matter of large expense. If 
the contract was to be complied with the revenue from the sale of logs 
and wood, after paying the expense involved in cutting and delivering 
them, would leave an annual deficit, and, of course, nothing to cover 
the expense of replanting. The contract, therefore, was the means of 



206 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1899 {continued) 
defeating this purpose, which was one of the prime essentials of the 
entire scheme. It would result in a denuded territory and not a re- 
forested one. This important work of reforestation could not be per- 
formed if this contract is to be enforced, unless the State provide large 
and continuous appropriations, which, as I view the matter, it was 
under no legal obligations to make. . . . 

I think the plaintiff (the people) is entitled to judgment declaring 
the contract to be void, and directing a conveyance to it of the lands 
in question, with costs against the defendant Cooperage Company. 

Among the first outsiders to take serious note of what was 
happening on the college lands were those who had summer 
camps in the vicinity. In 1901 Mr. Eric P. Swenson, as presi- 
dent of the Association of Residents on Upper Saranac Lake, 
made application to the attorney-general *Ho institute pro- 
ceedings on behalf of the People of the State of New York to 
have the purchase of 30,000 acres of land in Franklin County 
by Cornell University declared unconstitutional and void, and 
to have the title to said land vested in the People of the State 
of New York, subject to the provisions of Article VII, Section 
7 of the Constitution." 

Owing to the contract suit had to be brought against the 
Cooperage Company, who demurred on the ground of insuffi- 
cient cause for action. The demurrer was overruled at Spe- 
cial Term, and this judgment was affirmed successively by the 
Appellate Division and the Court of Appeals. A good cause 
for action having thus at last been established the case came 
to trial and, in June, 1910, the Supreme Court, Albany Special 
Term, gave judgment against the Cooperage Company. They 
then carried the case to the Court of Appeals where, on March 
19, 1912, it was again and finally decided against them. 

Thus, after ten years of litigation, ended a case that in the 
beginning attracted wide attention and aroused much heated 
discussion. When trouble began. Director Fernow, who had 
the shaping of the college policies, not unnaturally became the 
storm-center of the controversy. He was violently attacked, 
but also stanchly defended in certain quarters. He pleaded 
his own cause in speeches, pamphlets, magazines, and open 
letters to the press, seeking to explain his theories and justify 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 207 

1899 (continued) 

his methods. But he was not able to convince many that his 
futuristic theories, however sound, were a satisfactory offset 
to the immediate disadvantages of his application of them. 
His judgment was seriously impugned, but few if any of his 
critics imputed to him any dishonesty of purpose. 

1900 

Report for 1900. 

The report for this year is particularly full of Adirondack 
matter. Among the special articles are : 

"Methods of Estimating and Measuring Standing Timber" A. Kneehtel 

"A Study in Practical Reforesting" J. Y. McClintock 

"A Forest Working Plan for Township 40" J ^^'P^ S. Hosmer 

\ Eugene S. Bruce 
"History of the Lumber Industry in the State of New York" Wm. F. Fox 

This last is an exhaustive and scholarly treatise, helpfully 
illustrated by a number of excellent pictures. I have referred 
to it more particularly, and quoted from it, in Chapter XLIII. 

Name of commission changed. 

Early in this year the name of the commission was changed 
to the ** Forest, Fish and Game Commission," and a set of 
revised and improved fopest laws was passed. This was the 
direct outcome of recommendations made by Governor Roose- 
velt in his annual message to the Legislature, urging that the 
State forests be managed with the same degree of efficiency 
and foresight that was bestowed on those under private con- 
trol. During his entire administration he omitted no oppor- 
tunity of furthering this policy, and no other governor gave 
the welfare of the woods more persistent initiative or enthusi- 
astic support. 

Roosevelt cleans house. 

Soon after taking office Governor Roosevelt had his atten- 
tion called to the prevailing dissatisfaction with the forest 
administration. The Forest Commission service had become 
a haven for political favoritism, and its employees for the 



208 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1900 (continued) 

most part had only that fitness for their jobs which party 
loyalty conferred. A house-cleaning was needed, and the 
governor seized the reforming broom with his usual energy 
and began to ply it with characteristic fearlessness. He met, 
of course, with stubborn and retarding opposition, but he fin- 
ally succeeded in reorganizing the personnel of the commis- 
sion from top to bottom. 

Wehb suit for State flooding. 

Growing discontent with the administration of the forests 
was emphasized by a report of the State comptroller reveal- 
ing a system of deliberate depredations on State lands, and 
enormous sums paid by the State for unnecessarily overflow- 
ing and damaging private property. Dr. W. Seward Webb 
sued the State for $184,350 for damages caused by a dam 
on the Beaver River at Stillwater, which had raised the water 
nine feet. This claim was settled by the State buying from 
Dr. Webb, in 1895, for $600,000 the damaged and surrounding 
land to the extent of 75,377 acres. 

1901 

Report for 1901. 

The report for this year is particularly rich in varied 
articles, colored plates, and other illustrations. Two articles 
of special Adirondack interest are : 

"Moose" Madison Grant 

"The Adirondack Black Bear" George Chahoon 

Commission reduced. 

Chapter 94 of the Laws of 1901 made several important 
changes in the forest administration. Following a recom- 
mendation in Governor Odell's message, the Forest Preserve 
Board was consolidated with the Forest, Fish, and Game Com- 
mission, and the latter was reduced from five to three members 
(one Commissioner and two Deputies) mth the proviso that 
after January 1, 1903, it should consist of one member only. 
This single commissioner was to act with two commissioners 
of the Land Office. All these appointments were to be made 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 209 

1901 (continued) 

by the governor, who was thus virtually placed in control 
of the forest machinery. 

Appropriation vetoed. 

An appropriation of $250,000 was made for the usual pur- 
chase of lands in the forest preserve, but was vetoed by Gover- 
nor Odell on the ground that the State's policy in this matter 
was too indefinite. His excuse seemed scarcely less so, but 
he maintained his negative attitude and made a distinct break 
in the long line of governors who had shown friendly concern 
for the welfare of the forests. Governor Odell was reelected 
on a platform that included a pledge to resume land purchases, 
but it was not till 1904 that he signed an appropriation. Even 
then, with his virtual control of the political end of forest 
matters, he was able to keep the appropriation from being 
spent during his term of oflBce. 

Hounding abolished. 

The hounding of deer was permanently abolished. It had 
been suspended for five years by a law of 1896. 

Moose Bill. 
Eadford's Moose Bill was passed and signed. 

1902 

Report for 1902. 

The report for this year was delayed and was included in 
the report for 1903. The 1902 section contains nothing but 
routine matter. 

First planting. 

The first planting done by the State was in this year, when 
700 acres of State land in Franklin County were planted with 
stock purchased from the Cornell School of Forestry. 

Appropriation for nursery. 

An appropriation of $4,000 was made to establish a forest 
nursery. 



210 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1902 {continued) 
Elk liberated. 

Through the generosity of Hon. William C. Whitney twenty- 
two elk were liberated at Raquette Lake. 

A. P. A. organized. 

This year saw the organization of the Association for the 
Protection of the Adirondacks, the details of which follow. 

THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE 
ADIRONDACKS 

THE end of 1901 and the beginning of 1902 saw the incep- 
tion of a movement for an organization devoted ex- 
clusively to Adirondack interests. It was suggested to the 
Hon. Warren Higley, president of the Adirondack League 
Club, that an association of the many clubs and preserve- 
owners in the region would help to promote the great interest 
they had in common — the protection and the welfare of the 
woods in general. He secured from Albany a list of forty- 
two such organizations, controlling a total area of over 700,000 
acres. These were all invited to send representatives to a 
conference to be held by courtesy of the New York Board of 
Trade and Transportation in its rooms. Owing to this it 
has been sometimes assumed that the new association was 
an offspring of the older one. But such was not the case. 
The two organizations were not affiliated, excepting in having 
a common purpose in forest-preservation. For this they fre- 
quently joined forces at critical moments, but for the most 
part they worked independently and even differed occasionally 
as to their forest policies. 

The preliminary meeting of the new association was held 
on December 12, 1901. It was largely attended, and among 
the many distinguished and influential men who came to it 
were Governor Odoll and Lieutenant-Governor Woodruff, who 
at the time was president of the Forest, Fish, and Game Com- 
mission. Both these gentlemen were heartily in favor of the 
proposed association, and the general sentiment for it was so 
unanimous that a committee was appointed to select a name 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 211 

1902 {continued) 

and draw up a plan of permanent orgajiization. The meet- 
ing then adjourned to January 3, 1902. 

On this date a name, and a constitution and by-laws were 
submitted and adopted, and the Association for the Protection 
of the Adirondacks came formally into existence. The only 
important divergence from the original plan was the very wise 
decision to make the association not one of clubs but one of 
individuals, so that it would be open to anybody in sympathy 
with its objects. These were briefly stated to be : " The preser- 
vation of the Adirondack forests, waters,^ game, and fish, and 
the maintenance of healthful conditions in the Adirondack 
region." 

Thirty trustees were elected, in groups of ten, to serve three 
years each. On January 28th they held their first executive 
meeting and proceeded to the election of officers. The name 
of Judge Higley was suggested for president, but he thought 
best to decline on account of being the head of the largest club 
in the Adirondacks. The following ticket was then proposed 
and elected : 

President: Henry E. Howland 

let Vice-President: . . Warren Higley 

2d Viee-President: . . James MacNaughton 

3d Vice-President: . . William Barbour 

4th Vice-President: . William G. Rockefeller 

5th Vice-President: . . William C. Whitney 

Treasurer: Edwin S. Marston 

Secretary: Henry S. Harper 

At this meeting it was decided to employ a salaried assist- 
ant secretary, who should give as much time as was required 
to the affairs of the association. Dr. Edward Hagaman Hall, 
Secretary of the American Scenic and Preservation Society, 
was considered the most desirable choice and was offered the 
position. He accepted, and began on February 1, 1902, his 
long service with the association, of which he is now secretary. 

A Committee on Legislation was appointed and began deal- 
ing at once with the situation at Albany, where several dan- 
gerous bills were pending. Later the services of a permanent 
watcher of legislation at the capitol were secured. The asso- 



212 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1902 (contmued) 

elation immediately went on record as being opposed to any 
change in Section 7 of Article VII of the Constitution, and 
voted "that this action be communicated to both houses of the 
Legislature and be expressed as publicly as possible." It also 
began adding the pressure of its influence to that of the Board 
of Trade and Transportation in bringing about the resump- 
tion of land purchases wdthin the Adirondack Park. This 
policy had been promoted by Governors Flower, Morton, 
Black, and Roosevelt, but was opposed by Governor Odell. 

At the first annual meeting of the association, held on April 
8, 1902, Harry Radford made the suggestion that if some 
scientific body would offer a substantial reward for the find- 
ing of a substitute for wood-pulp, such a discovery would do 
more than anything else to help save the forests from de- 
struction. How great the menace from this source was, and 
still is, may be gathered from the following impressive figures. 
A certain New York newspaper, credited with a circulation of 
800,000 copies, issued an edition consisting of eighty pages. 
This single edition required the product of 9,779 trees, sixty 
feet high and ten inches in diameter at breast height, which, 
if planted forty feet apart, would represent a forest area of 
352 acres ! * 

Radford's suggestion was taken up by the association, which 
seriously considered offering a reward for a wood-pulp sub- 
stitute. But, after further discussion, it was deemed best not 
to do this, but to use the influence of the association for the 
desired object in other ways, and especially by arousing the 
interest and securing the cooperation of the Federal Govern- 
ment. This was successfully done by sending Dr. Hall to 
"Washington, and the quest thus started, though never re- 
warded, has never been entirely abandoned. 

The association was incorporated on June 20, 1902, and by 
the end of the year it had a total of 1,044 members. 

The general scope of its activities will appear in the follow- 
ing pages. It was soon recognized as a potent factor in Adi- 
rondack affairs, and could point with pride to some of its po- 

1 These figures are taken from the sixth annual report of the association. 



LEGISLATIVE CX)NTROL 213 

1902 {continued) 

litical enemies. Others sought to belittle it as a combination 
of rich men and large landholders who were primarily seek- 
ing advantages for themselves and their preserves. This im- 
pression still obtains to some extent, but nothing could be 
further from the truth. The members of the association have 
reaped such personal benefits from it only as must accrue to 
the individual from any improvement of general conditions. 
To bettering these it has devoted itself with unselfish persist- 
ency, and it has never championed any cause but the rights 
of the people at large, as vested in the lands of the State and 
the laws of the land. 

1903 

Report for 1902-3. 

The report for this year includes the delayed one for 1902, 
and the plan of delaying and lumping the annual reports was 
pursued for the next few years, presumably for economical 
reasons. The volume for 1902-3 contains several beautifully 
illustrated and very interesting articles of both general and 
special forest interest : 

"The Cultivated Forests of Europe" A. Knechtel 

"Nursery Methods io Europe" Wm. F. Fox 

"Notes on Adirondack Mammals" Madison Grant 

"Squirrels and Other Rodents" F. C. Paulmier 

Nursery established. 

A forest nursery, covering a little over two acres, was es- 
tablished -at Saranac Inn station. 

Forest Commission becomes single-headed. 

The Forest, Fish, and Game Commission became single- 
headed, and remained so till 1910. DeWitt C. Middleton of 
Watertown was appointed commissioner. 

Board of Trade defeats Lewis Grab Bill. 

The New York Board of Trade and Transportation, sec- 
onded by the Association for the Protection of the Adiron- 
dacks, led a long hard fight that ended in the defeat of what 



214 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1903 (continued) 

was known as the Lewis Water Storage (Grab) Bill, which 
threatened a dangerous invasion of the woods under the guise 
of preventing floods and freshets. The hidden menaces in 
the bill were fully exposed by a pamphlet published by the 
Committee on Forests of the Board of Trade and Transporta- 
tion. 

A. P. A. investigates surrender of State's titles. 

The Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks be- 
gan investigating conditions in Township 40, Totten and 
Crossfield Purchase, with a view to stopping the State from 
too readily surrendering its title, when challenged, to forest 
lands. This has ever since been an important phase of the 
association's activities. 

FOREST riRES OF 1903 

The most wide-spread and disastrous fires since 1880 ^ oc- 
curred in the spring of this year. They lasted from April 
20th to June 8th, when they were extinguished by the rain that 
ended a six weeks' drought. They burned over 600,000 acres 
of timber land, cost $175,000 to fight, and did direct and com- 
putable damage estimated at $3,500,000.2 

In April a farmer near Lake Placid lost control of a fallow 
fire. It smouldered in the duff until June 3d, when it was 
whipped into a furious surface fire by high winds. It trav- 
eled eight miles in two hours and a half, jumping over clear- 
ings and streams, and becoming a ** crown" fire in the heavy 
timber — that is, burning in the tree-tops, the most inaccessible 
place. It was this fire that swooped down upon and destroyed 
Adirondack Lodge, amid the thrilling incidents described in 
the chapter on that locality. 

A similar fire in Keene Valley burned from Cascade to near 

1 The fires of 1880, according to the U. S. Census, burned over 149,491 acres and 
did damage estimated at $1,210,785. 

2 These figures include private property. They are taken from a pamphlet 
entitled: Forest Fires in the Adirondacks in 1903, by H. M. Suter, U. S. Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, Bureau of Forestry, Circular No. 26. 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 215 

1903 {continued) 
St. Hubert's Inn, a distance of nine miles. A fire started at 
Roaring Brook and burned over 17,000 acres. In the Neha- 
sane Preserve 12,000 acres were burned over, and the camp 
buildings were saved only by the bringing of fire-engines on 
the railway from Herkimer and Ilion. Fires took a toll of 
10,000 acres in each of the following places— around Catlin 
Lake, on the A. A. Low Preserve, and on the De Camp Tract. 

The largest fire of all, however, was on the Rockefeller Pre- 
serve, where 40,000 acres were devastated. There is little 
doubt that owing to the bitter local feeling against Mr. Rocke- 
feller at the time,^ the fires on his property were more numer- 
ous and serious than they might otherwise have been. Cer- 
tain it is that he had to bring in train-loads of Italians to fight 
them, and that the unfamiliarity of the men with that kind of 
work made their assistance next to useless. 

These were merely some of the larger fires. Smaller ones 
flared up by the thousands. The whole woods were ablaze. 
For six weeks hundreds of men did nothing but fight fire day 
and night. There was little wind during the first part of the 
time, and a heavy pall of smoke hung everywhere and seldom 
lifted. It added immensely to the difficulties, the nervous 
strain, and the discomfort of the whole situation. In many 
places it was possible to sleep at night only by lying on the 
floor or in the bottom of a boat. 

As it was the breeding and nesting season, both game and 
birds were destroyed in large quantities, but there was no loss 
of human life, although there were many narrow and thrilling 
escapes. The fire-fighting machinery, while still cumbersome 
and inadequate, worked much more smoothly than in 1899, 
because nearly every one in 1903 stood to lose something if the 
fires spread. But despite the unanimous effort resulting from 
the ubiquitous danger, it was obvious to every one that no hu- 
man intervention could have saved the woods from complete 
destruction had the fires and the high winds lasted a few days 
longer. Nothing but the rains saved the situation. The les- 
son was carried home to every thoughtful person that no 

1 This was due to his trouble with Lamora. See Chap. XLII, under "Brandon." 



216 A HISTOEY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 
1903 (continued) 

purely combative measures could prevent the recurrence of 
disaster. This could be avoided only by some comprehensive 
system of prevention and early detection. Such a system was 
gradually evolved, but not until the need of it was driven home 
again by the destructive fires of 1908. 

1904 

No report. 

For report see 1906. 

Act defining the "blue liyie.'' 

On April 13th an amendatory act was passed defining ex- 
actly the boundaries of the Adirondack Park, and extending 
them so as to include about 42,000 additional acres. The act 
of 1892 named the counties, and the act of 1893 the Towns, 
which were to become part of the park, but the act of 1904 was 
the first to describe its boundaries. This lengthy description 
is omitted here, for it is merely a verbal drawing of the ''blue 
line" as it appears on the most recent maps. 

New fire legislation. 

As a result of the fires of 1903 the Association for the Pro- 
tection of the Adirondacks secured the passage, in May, of 
some legislation for better fire protection. The new law cre- 
ated a Chief Fire-warden who had power to appoint other 
wardens and establish an extensive system of patrol, espe- 
cially along the railway lines. These were required to keep 
their right of way in safer condition and to use spark screens 
on their locomotives. These changes and others were a step 
in the right direction, but they were not radical enough to 
stand the test of the adverse fire conditions which recurred 
in 1908. 

River Improvement Commission. 

The River Improvement Commission was created this year, 
and the Forest, Fish, and Game Commissioner was made a 
member of it. 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 217 

1904 (continued) 
Destruction of buildings on State lands. 

A law was passed tins year forbidding the erection of any 
permanent building on State land, and authorizing the de- 
struction of any previously erected there. The work of 
demolition began at once wherever the State felt sure of its 
title to the land. This w^as the long-delayed and drastic so- 
lution of the problem created by the leasing of State lands 
prior to the constitutional prohibition of 1894. It worked 
actual hardship and seeming injustice to those who had built 
-in good faith, but their number was not large. 

Attack on Sec. 7, Art VII. 

The year brought forth the usual concurrent resolution to 
amend Section 7 of Article VII. This time the amendment 
was to allow the removal of burned timber from State lands, 
and the sale of such lands outside the Adirondack Park. The 
latter proposition had points of merit, but the former had 
points of danger, and as the two were interlocked, concerted 
opposition to both was offered. 

1905 

No report. 
For annual report see 1906. 

State takes over nurseries. 

The State took over the Wawbeek and Axton nurseries of 
the Cornell School of Forestry. Later these were discon- 
tinued. 

Transplants. 

In Essex and Franklin counties 520,000 transplants were set 
out on State land. 

A. P. A. reports to governor on lumber thefts. 

The Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks fin- 
ished its investigations of the unlawful removal of timber 
from State lands, and came to the conclusion that the laxity 



218 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1905 (continued) 

of Commissioner Middleton and of Chief Game-Protector 
Pond was largely responsible for existing conditions. The 
association laid its findings before Governor Higgins, who 
immediately turned them over to Attorney-General Mayer 
with instructions to investigate thoroughly and report. The 
result is set forth in the association's fifth annual Report, 
from which I quote the following: 

As the official investigation progressed, the facts already gathered 
by the Association's Assistant Secretary in his personal visit to the 
woods were more than confirmed. It was found that between 
15,000,000 and 16,000.000 board feet of timber had been removed un- 
lawfully from State land during the preceding year with the knowl- 
edge of the authorities whose duty it was to prevent it, and that it was 
done under a well-understood system of friendly cooperation by which 
the trespassers were permitted to go through a form of confessing 
judgment and paying for the timber at a rate so low as to make the 
transaction profitable to the trespassers. Not only was the mandatory 
legal penalty of $10 per tree not exacted, but the so-called confessions 
of judgment for the larger trespasses were made before justices of 
the peace in a manner not allowed by law, and the timber was removed 
from State land in direct contravention of the constitution and the 
opinion of the attorney-general given to the Forest, Fish, and 
Game Commissioner. 

James S. Whipple succeeds Middleton. -^ 

On April 28, 1905, Attorney-General Mayer made a report to Gover- 
nor Higgins, and on May 5, Governor Iliggins appointed James S. 
"Whipple, formerly Chief Clerk of the Senate, as Commissioner in 
place of Mr. Middleton, whose term had expired on March 26. 

Protector Pond refuses fo resign. 

The removal of Chief Game Protector Pond was not so easily accom- 
plished, for the reason that he had no definite term of office, and as 
a Civil War veteran he invoked the protection of the civil service law. 
As he refused at first to resign, the only alternative was to bring 
formal charges against him. 

Pond resigns; J. B. Burnham appointed. 

On May 11, the Trustees voted to present charges of misconduct 
against Major Pond. During the next few weeks the Association ac- 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 219 

1905 (continued) 
cumulated further evidence, and formal charges were drafted, taken 
to Albany and shown informally to Commissioner Whipple, who would 
be the official to hear Pond in case the charges were pressed. Without 
formally filing the charges, the knowledge that the Association would 
press them, if necessary, had the desired effect. Major Pond offered 
his resignation and it was accepted by Commissioner Whipple, August 
2, 1905, to take effect October 1. Commissioner Whipple subsequently 
appointed Mr. J. B. Bumham as Chief Game Protector. 

Colonel Fox restored to power. 

Meanwhile, the forest law was amended by the Legislature so as 
to restore to the Superintendent of Forests (Col. William F. Fox) his 
powers as the real superintendent of the forests, which had singularly 
been transferred to the Chief Game Protector a few years before. 

General improvement. 

Since then the Attorney-General has been prosecuting the tres- 
passers rigorously; the old system of timber piracy appears to be 
eft'ectively broken up ; a new atmosphere pervades the Forest, Fish, 
and Game Department ; and the administration of the forests appears 
to be on a healthier basis than for many years. 

Petition to dam streams. 

But no sooner were these things accomplished than others 
called for attention. Petitions were lodged with the River 
Improvement Commission (created in 1904) for permission to 
dam the Raquette, Sacondaga, and Saranac rivers, on the 
general plea that regulation of these streams was needed as a 
measure of health-protection. Two hearings on the petition 
were given before the River Commission in Albany, and the 
discussion soon centered around the application of the Paul 
Smith's Electric Light and Power and Railroad Company to 
build a dam on their property at Franklin Falls, and flood ad- 
jacent State land. 

Plea of necessity. 

Their plea was based on the undeniable fact that the village 
of Saranac Lake sewered into the Saranac River, and then 
on the deniable contention that the decaying deposits on the 
banks of the river at low water constituted a serious menace 



220 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1905 {continued) 

to public health. The altruistic concern of the Paul Smith's 
Company over the situation was such that it offered to build 
a dam at its own expense to avert disaster, and then to sell 
light and power to the communities thus saved from the 
ravages of pestilence. 

Opposition by Board of Trade. 

There was no question, of course, as to their right to build 
a dam on their own property, but their right to flood State 
land as a consequence was a very vital question. This right 
was emphatically denied by the Forestry Committee of the 
New York Board of Trade and Transportation in an able brief 
prepared by its secretary, Mr, Gardner, and read by its as- 
sistant secretary, Mr. McConnell, before the River Improve- 
ment Commission. The uncompromising stand was taken 
that the flooding of State lands for any reason would con- 
stitute a violation of Article VII Section 7 of the Constitu- 
tion. 

A. P. A. dissents. 

The Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks was 
also represented at this hearing, but it dissented from the 
unyielding position taken by the Board of Trade. The asso- 
ciation felt that, as there was virtually no timber of value on 
the lands in question, their flooding might, in this particular 
instance, be permitted. They took a different view of the 
matter later on, however. (See under 1908.) 

Senator Malby's argument. 

There was a second hearing before the River Improvement 
Commission at which Senator Malby, representing the Paul 
Smith's interests, read a brief in answer to the one which 
the Board of Trade had submitted. The argument used was 
that the police power of the State — the right to protect health 
and life — was supreme and could be applied when ** necessary 
for the happiness and health of the people, whether or not a 
constitutional provision seems to intervene.'^ Such necessity 
was claimed to exist in this case. The commercial side of 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 221 

1905 {continued) 

the petition was admitted, but it was treated as secondary 
and incidental to the altruistic one. 

Mr. Choate renders an opinion. 

After hearing all the arguments for and against the peti- 
tions, the River Improvement Commission decided to take 
no immediate action, but its president, Attorney-General 
Julius M. Mayer, suggested that the constitutional question in- 
volved be submitted to Hon. Joseph H. Choate for his opinion. 
This was done, and the commission, the Board of Trade, and 
the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks agreed 
to abide by Mr. Choate 's findings. These sustained in every 
respect the arguments used by the Board of Trade and Trans- 
portation, and, as a result, the application of the Paul Smith's 
Company was denied as unconstitutional. In spite of this the 
Paul Smith's Company proceeded, later on, to build the dams 
in question. (See under 1908.) 

1906 

Report for 1904-5-6. 

The report for this year includes those ior 1904 and 1905, 
and their routine matter takes up most of the thick volume, 
so that there are fewer special articles. There is a very in- 
teresting one, however, on the "History of Adirondack 
Beaver, ' ' by Harry V. Radford. 

Trees set out. 
In Essex and Franklin counties 548,000 trees were set out. 

Experimental Nursery. 

An Experimental Nursery Station of four acres was estab- 
lished at Saranac Inn station, in connection with the United 
States Forest Service. 

Appropriation Bill signed. 

A bill, introduced at the request of the Association for the 
Protection of the Adirondacks by Senator J. P. Allds, appro- 



222 A HISTOKY OF THE ADIEONDACKS 

1906 {continued) 

priating $400,000 for land purchases was signed by the gov- 
ernor on May 31st. 

Merritt-O 'Neil Resolution. 

The interests that had been defeated the previous year be- 
fore the River Improvement Commission, now sought the 
privilege to build dams by securing a constitutional amend- 
ment. To this end they jammed through the Legislature, in 
its closing hours and without granting a public hearing that 
was asked for, a measure known as the "Merritt-O'Neil Reso- 
lution." 

1907 

Report deferred. 

For report see year 1909. 

Trees planted. 
In Essex and Franklin counties 150,000 trees were planted. 

Merritt-O'Neil Resohdion reintroduced. 

The Merritt-O'Neil Resolution was of course reintroduced 
in this year's Legislature. A public hearing on its merits 
was given on March 20th, and on this occasion the defenders 
of the forest forced the admission from the sponsors of the 
measure that they were financially interested in its passage. 

Merritt-O'Neil Resolution defeated. 

The New York Board of Trade and Transportation joined 
with the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks 
in this fight, and they invited other interested organizations 
to meet with them in a council of war. Over twenty-five rep- 
resentatives answered the call, and a carefully coordinated 
plan of opposition was mapped out. It was successful in 
bringing home to the Legislature the strong public sentiment 
against the proposed amendment, and that body failed to give 
it the second approval necessary for its submission to the peo- 
ple. 



LEGISLATIVE QONTBOL 223 

1907 {continued) 
The "Fuller Law.'' 

An important measure, known as the ''Fuller Law," was 
passed this year. It was drafted by Mr. Frank S. Gardner, 
Secretary of the New York Board of Trade and Transporta- 
tion, and received the hearty support of Governor Hughes, 
who sent an emergency message to the Legislature in its be- 
half. Under this law the State Water Supply Commission 
was empowered to make and actually made the most thorough 
and scientific investigation and report of the water-power re- 
sources of the State. The original act was supplemented by 
appropriations during the two succeeding years, and the re- 
sult furnished a valuable check on those interests who sought 
control of the water-powers for private advantage. 

1908 

No report. 
For report see year 1909. 

Nursery at Lake Clear. 

A nursery of six and one half acres was established at Lake 
Clear. 

State sells trees at cost. 

The appropriation bill for this year contained the follow- 
ing clause: ''For establishing additional nurseries for the 
propagation of forest trees to be furnished to citizens of the 
State at cost, etc." This experiment met with marked suc- 
cess, and 25,000 trees were sold the first year. 

Worst fires since 1903. 

The woods this year suffered again from fires almost as 
wide-spread and destructive as those of 1903. That they were 
not quite so was due entirely to the absence of high winds, 
and not to any improvement in fire-fighting conditions. The 
summer season closed ^vith a long drought, during which the 
fires started and burned till snow fell in the autumn. They 
burned over 368,000 acres, as against 464,000 in 1903. 



224 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1908 (continued) 

Campaign for better fire-protection. 

Realizing that a few more fires of such extent would wipe 
out the woods completely, the Association for the Protection 
of the Adirondacks began a campaign for better methods of 
prevention. In this it sought and secured the hearty co- 
operation of Commissioner Whipple and of Public Service 
Commissioner Osborne, whose province it was to decide on 
the responsibility of railroads in starting fires. To this end 
he made a personal tour of inspection in October, while the 
forests were still burning, and he declared that he had seen 
nothing so depressing since his visit to Martinique after the 
eruption of Mont Pelee. He added, moreover, the pertinent 
comment that, while the latter disaster was beyond control, 
the desolation in the Adirondacks was due largely to the stu- 
pidity of man. 

Conference on better fire laws. 

As a result of this inquiry and allied activities a conference 
was held in Commissioner Whipple's office at Albany, on De- 
cember 29th, which was attended by about fifty representatives 
of various Adirondack interests. A special committee was ap- 
pointed to embody the \dews of the meeting in appropriate 
legislation, and the following gentlemen were named : 

Hon. John G. Agar of New York (V-P't A. P. A.), Chairman 

Hon. v. P. Abbott of Gouvemeur 

Frank L. Bell of Glen3 Falls 

James S. Jacobs of Tupper Lake 

W. Scott Brown of Keene Valley 

Dr. Edward Hagaman Hall of New York (Sec'y A. P. A.) 

This committee held many meetings and drafted a number 
of excellent fire-protection amendments to the Forest, Fish, 
and Game Law, which were passed by the Legislature the fol- 
lowing year. 

Paul Smith's Company foods State lands. 

The Paul Smith's Electric Light and Power and Railroad 
Company completed dams for power purposes at Franklin 
Falls and Union Falls on the Saranac River, and flooded se- 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 225 

1908 (continued) 

veral hundred acres of State land. The Association for the 
Protection of the Adiroudacks made an immediate investiga- 
tion and issued the result in an illustrated pamphlet (No. 17, 
July 15, 1908, 22 pp. ) entitled : ' ' Drowned State Lands on the 
Saranac River. " Asa result of the disclosures it contained, 
the State secured a temporary injunction against the Paul 
Smith's Company, compelling it to draw down the water and 
restore the river to its normal condition. Suit was also 
brought to recover damages and make the injunction perma- 
nent. 

1909 

Report for 1907-8-9 last of large quarto volumes. 

The report for this year includes those for 1907 and 1908. 
It contains no special articles, and is the last of the large and 
expensive quarto volumes that were issued. The cost of 
their production had been very considerable, and it was to re- 
duce it that the expedient of delaying and combining the re- 
ports was adopted. But this plan had practical drawbacks 
which were hardly offset by the beauty of the books, and the 
Legislature refused to supply money for their further pubhca- 
tion. The complete set of this unique series comprises ten 
volumes, from 1895 to 1909 inclusive. 

Large tree sales. 

Tree sales by the State amounted to 179 separate orders, 
aggregating a total of 1,005,325 trees. The demand this year 
far outran the supply. 

New fire-control system. 

As a result of the passage by the Legislature of the recom- 
mendations made by the Agar Committee, the State inaugur- 
ated for the first time an intelligent, comprehensive, and eflS- 
cient system of fire control, with emphasis laid — where it al- 
ways should have been — on prevention and early detection. 

Observation stations. 

The great advance in this respect was due to the establish- 



226 A HISTOEY OF TPIE ADIRONDACKS 
1909 (continued) 

ment of observation stations on the tops of mountains, con- 
nected by telephone with the nearest settlement. The watch- 
ers live in cabins or tents near their stations, and are con- 
tinuously on duty during the fire season. They have field- 
glasses and oriented topographic maps of the visible area, 
which is often 10{),0()0 acres or more. As many as fifteen sta- 
tions were erected the first year, and by 1918 the number had 
increased to fifty-two. The earlier ones were crude plat- 
forms of wood, but all the later ones are substantial steel 
towers with enclosed shelters at the top. They are, moreover, 
equipped with such modern and helpful devices as the Os- 
borne Fire Finder. 

Other important features of the new law were as follows : 

New patrol system. 

The Forest, Fish, and Game Commissioner was given full 
power to organize a thorough patrol system. The work form- 
erly done by fire-wardens was given to 68 Regular Patrolmen, 
paid by the year, and to 109 Special Patrolmen, paid when on 
duty. Town Supervisors were made members of the patrol 
force by \drtue of the office. Five Superintendents of Fire 
and five Inspectors were created, all subject to the direction of 
the Superintendent of Forests. 

Railroad regulations. 

Railroads were required to clear their right of way of in- 
flammable slash, to maintain a fire patrol along their lines, and 
to bum oil in their locomotives at stated times during the sum- 
mer season. 

Top-lopping law. 

Lumbermen were required to lop the branches from con- 
iferous tree-tops left on the ground after lumbering. 

Governor's prodamiation power. 

The governor was given pow«r to forbid by proclamation, 
in times of drought, any person from entering upon lands of 
the forest preserve. 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 



227 



1909 (continued) 
Old and' New systems compared. 

These and many minor salutary provisions constituted a 
fire-control system which the test of years has shown to be re- 
markably efficient. It. has consequently been altered but lit- 
tle, and only where experience has indicated possibilities of 
improvement. The adequacy of the new system as compared 
with the utter inadequacy of the old, can best be shown by the 
following table and chart, comparing years in which the un- 
favorable weather conditions were very similar, although the 
drought of 1911 and 1913 was not as protracted as in 1903 and 
1908. 

WORST YEARS 



UNDER 


OLD STSTEM 


UNDER NEW SYSTEM 


464,189 acres 

Loss 
$846,082 

Cost 
$153,764 










346,953 acres 

Loss 
$780,164 

Cost 
$178,991 


Loss 
$33,259 

Cost 

$19,714 


Loss 

$48,045 

Cost 

$41,479 






50,389 acres 


27,757 acres 





1903 



1908 



1911 



1913 



Recommendation to allow flooding. 

On February 1st in a report of the State Water Supply 
Commission the recommendation was made that Section 7 
of Article VII be so amended as to allow up to 20,000 acres 
of State land to be flooded for water-storage purposes. 

New attack on Section 7, Article VII. 

On February 17th Hon. G. H. Wood of Jefferson County 
introduced in the Assembly a concurrent resolution to amend 
Section 7 of Article VII so as to permit the removal and sale 
of fallen, dead, and burned timber, and the cutting and sale 
of matured trees on State lands under the supervision of the 
Forest, Fish, and Game Commissioner. Despite vigorous 
outside protest this resolution was passed in the closing days 
of the session. It was reintroduced in the Legislature of 1911, 



228 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 
1909 (continued) 

but was defeated largely through the efforte of the Board of 
Trade aud Transportation. 

Death of Colonel Fox. 

The annual report for this year refers to the death of the 
Superintendent of Forests, Colonel William F. Fox, and gives 
an interesting sketch of his career. His unusually long and 
commendable service with the State as guardian of its woods, 
entitles him to a word of special mention here. 

WILLIAM F. FOX 

Colonel Fox died on June 16, 1909, after twenty-four years 
of continuous service under the varying Forest Commissions 
— a record equaled by no other Adirondack forest official. 
He was appointed assistant secretary to the first commission 
on November 1, 1885. He was later made Assistant Forest 
Warden, from 1888 to 1891, when, upon the creation of the 
Adirondack Park, he was made Superintendent of Forests, 
a position which he held, through many political storms and 
changes, until his death. 

, He was born in Ballston Spa, N. Y., on January 11, 1840, 
and graduated from the Engineering Department of Union 
College in 1860. He fought \s^th distinction in the Civil War, 
and later made some notable contributions to its history. 
His "Chances of Being Hit in Battle" was published in the 
"'Century Magazine" in 1888, and attracted wide interest as 
a novel computation of hazards. Ten years later he published 
"Regimental Losses," which is still considered an authorita- 
tive work. This was followed by "New York at Gettysburg" 
(three volumes), "Slocum and His Men," and a Life of Gen- 
eral Green. 

Colonel Fox was a member of the Chi Psi fraternity, and 
at one time its president. He belonged to Dawson Post No. 
63 of the Grand Army of the Republic, and was a companion 
in the Military Order of the Loyal Legion. He was corre- 
sponding secretary of the Society of the Potomac ; a member 
of the New York Historical Society, of the American Forestry 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 229 

1909 {continued) 
Association, and of the Society of American Foresters. 

His family was engaged in the lumber business, and his early 
commercial training was all in that line. This he supple- 
mented later by a visit to Germany and a brief study of scien- 
tific forestry methods there. From 1875 to 1882 he held the 
position of private forester for the Blossburg Coal, Mining, 
and Eailroad Company of Blossburg, Pa. In 1885 he entered 
the employ of New York State. 

At the time he was one of the few experts in his line, and 
he kept adding to his knowledge by constant study and re- 
search, for he was by nature a student and investigator. He 
was a sincere lover of the woods and an honest servant of the 
people. He worked for all that was best in forest methods, 
but had to face the handicaps of public apathy, changing ad- 
ministrations, and shifting policies. He was from the first 
an ardent advocate of forest-preserve purchases, and kept 
urging the State to buy land while the buying was cheap. The 
beginning of reforestation and the plan of selling trees to 
private owners — which proved so successful — were of his de- 
vising. He had keen foresight and sound judgment in forest 
matters, and his advice, if more frequently followed, would 
have often saved the State both money and trouble. He was 
always on the lookout for trained assistants, and employed the 
first graduate of the first forestry school in this country — 
Clifford R. Pettis, who ultimately became his successor as 
Superintendent of Forests. 

The sketch of Colonel Fox in the Forest Commission report 
gives an historical review of the Adirondack situation, and 
then adds: ''This general summary of the development of 
a forest preserve and a forest policy in this State has been 
given because a careful examination shows it largely to be the 
work of Colonel Fox.'* 

His unbroken association with State forestry from the be- 
ginning, and his habit of collecting and tabulating statistics, 
made him a storehouse of valuable information. His knowl- 
edge, moreover, was not only of trees ; it came to include the 
topography and history of the lands on which they grew. He 
made several very useful maps for his department, and the 



230 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1909 (continued) 

excellent monograph on "Land Grants and Patents of North- 
ern New York," in the Forest Commission report for 1893, 
was from his pen. He did much of the educational writing 
for the early reports, and made in his line the most scholarly 
contributions to the later ones. Chief among these was his 
''History of the Lumber Industry in New York," to which ex- 
haustive compilation I have already called attention in a 
preceding chapter. 

His immediate successor in office was Professor Austin 
Cary of Harvard University, who w^as followed a year later 
by Mr. C. R. Pettis. 

1910 

Report for 1910. 

The sixteenth annual report of the Forest, Fish, and Game 
Commission was the last one it issued, and was a return to 
an octavo-sized volume. Outside of routine matter it contains 
a special report on ''Forest Conditions of Warren County" 
and a similar one on Oneida County, both accompanied by 
colored maps. 

C. R. Pettis appointed Superintendent of Forests. 

Professor Austin Cary resigned as Superintendent of For- 
ests, and Mr. C. R. Pettis \vas appointed in his place on June 
1st. He had been Assistant Superintendent for several years 
under Colonel Fox, who had taken him into the service of the 
State on April 15, 1902. He was graduated with the degree 
of Forest Engineer from the Cornell College of Forestry in 
June, 1901, and was immediately offered the position of As- 
sistant Director of Grounds at Chautauqua, N. Y. In the 
meantime Colonel Fox was looking for a forester, and Pro- 
fessor B. E. Femow recommended Mr. Pettis. His first work 
was to establish the forest plantations at Lake Clear Junc- 
tion. The following year he established the first State Nur- 
sery at Saranac Inn, and there developed a system of nursery 
practice which has been adopted by the United States Forest 
Service and is now taught in all forestry schools. His work 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 231 

1910 (continued) 
as superintendent has been notably progressive and efficient, 
and he has proved a worthy successor to Colonel Fox, whom 
he bids fair to rival even in length of service. 

An important event of this year was the resignation of 
Commissioner Whipple, under circumstances calling for a 
brief review. 

Hughes investigation. 

Early in the legislative session of 1910 Senator Conger 
made charges of bribery against Senator AUds, who had been 
connected with former purchases of land by the State. This 
led Governor Hughes to make an investigation. On February 
16th he appointed Mr. Roger P. Clark and Mr. H. Leroy 
Austin special commissioners to investigate the management 
and affairs of the Forest Purchasing Board and the Forest, 
Fish, and Game Commission. The investigation went back 
over a period of about fifteen years. 

Commissioner Whipple. 

The Forest, Fish, and Game Commissioner at the time of 
the investigation was James S. Whipple of Salamanca, who 
had held office since May 5. 1905. His predecessor was De 
Witt C. Middleton. who had resigned after the disclosures of 
lumber-thieving under his administration. 

Result of investigation. 

On October 1, 1910, the investigators handed Governor 
Hughes their report, covering 425 typewritten pages. Two 
thirds of the report was devoted to transactions of the Forest 
Purchasing Board, and it was sho^vn that land originally of- 
fered to the State for $1.50 an acre had been bought later for 
$6.50, and many similar instances were cited. Commissioner 
Whipple was a member of this board. 

Whipple criticized. 

As to the department under his special care, it received both 
commendation and censure. He was criticized for a lack of 
system that resulted in extravagance, and for inattention to 



232 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1910 (continued) 

his executive duties that left his subordinates too free a hand. 
But no charge of dishonesty was made against him or any 
of the Purchasing Board. 

Mr. Whipple resigns. Mr. Austin appointed. 

After reading a copy of the report Commissioner Whipple, 
in a very dignified letter, offered his resignation. On Octo- 
ber 4th Governor Hughes appointed Mr. H. Le Roy Austin, 
one of the investigating committee, to succeed Mr. Whipple. 
Mr. Austin accepted the position only temporarily, until a fit- 
ting and permanent appointee could be found. 

Merritt resolution. 

A concurrent resolution "relating to the disposition and 
use of lands in the Forest Preserve" was introduced by As- 
semblyman Merritt on February 23d. It was a water-stor- 
age measure designed ultimately to benefit private interests, 
and therefore met Avith the usual outside opposition. Despite 
this its politically powerful sponsor was able to force its pas- 
sage through the Assembly, and at the same time managed 
to obstruct all other Adirondack legislation. 

Policy of obstruction. 

The New York Board of Trade and Transportation and the 
Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks had drafted 
or concurred in several carefully prepared measures permit- 
ting reasonable water-storage, necessary roads, leasing of 
camp sites, removal of dead timber, and the sale of useless 
lands outside the "blue line." The friends of the forests 
thought the time had come when concise concessions along 
these lines might safely be made, but they found their willing- 
ness to make them obstructed by a political dog-in-the-manager 
attitude. They were told in effect, if not in words, that no 
Adirondack measures would be allowed to pass until a gen- 
tleman who admitted he was financially interested in Adiron- 
dack water-power, had secured such legislation as he desired 
for himself and his friends. This policy defeated its own 
ends, however. 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 233 

1910 (continued) 
Oovernor Hughes suggests bond issue. 

In his message to the Legislature on January 5th Governor 
Hughes advocated a permanent and progressive policy of 
extending the Forest Preserve by issuing bonds instead of 
adhering to the uncertain and inadequate method of appropria- 
tions. The suggestion, like all that he made, was a most ex- 
cellent one, but was not allowed to bear fruit till 1916. 

Governor Hughes, it should be noted, was one of the most 
unswerving friends of the forests who ever sat in the guber- 
natorial chair. He admittedly knew little about the intrica- 
cies of the Adirondack problem when he first took office, but 
he soon made himself master of the situation. 

Early in his first term he was asked by the Albany corre- 
spondents to state his views on forest matters. In answer 
he showed them a long letter he had received from the New 
York Board of Trade, making recommendations which, he 
said, he would use as the basis for his own. This he did, sup- 
plementing the suggestions of the letter by study and investi- 
gation, and evolving an enlightened and constructive forest 
policy which he pursued undeviatingly throughout his two 
terms of office. He courted the advice of the two civic bodies 
devoted to Adirondack protection, and did all that a governor 
could do to improve the forest administration. 

After announcing his retirement from the governorship 
to accept a seat in the United States Supreme Court, he spent 
much time in drafting a model bill for the development of the 
water-powers of the State. In this work he requested the 
assistance of Mr. Frank S. Gardner, who made nine trips to 
Albany and held conferences with the governor which on 
several occasions lasted for over three hours. 

The result was a most excellent bill, which received the 
unanimous approval of the State Water Supply Commission. 
It was introduced in the Legislature, but was blocked by polit- 
ical interests, and failed to pass. This was foreseen by the 
governor. His main object, he said, was to put in form and 
leave on record a bill that would serve as a model for his suc- 
cessor and for future consideration. 



234 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1910 (continued) 

This bill is printed in full in the fifth annual report of the 
State Water Supply Commission for 1910, pp. 117-128. 

1911 

First report of Conservation Commission. 

The report for this year is the first report of the Conserva- 
tion Commission, which replaced the Forest, Fish, and Game 
Commission. The report is in two volumes, matching in size 
and appearance the report of 1910. It is devoted entirely to 
the broadened and subdivided activities of the new Commis- 
sion. The Adirondacks come mainly under the ''Division of 
Lands and Forests." The remainder of Volume 1 is devoted 
to fish and game matters throughout the State. The second 
volume, the thicker of the two, is given up entirely to the 
** Division of Inland Waters," and is full of tables and statis- 
tical data. 

Message of Governor Dix. 

The idea leading to the new Conservation Commission was 
first suggested in the inaugural message of Governor Dix, 
in which he said : 

As to the Forest, Fish, and Game Commission and the State Water 
Supply Commission, under these heads I wish to call your attention 
to the very important question of the conservation and proper de- 
velopment of the natural resources of the State. 

He then dwells on the interrelation of woods and waters, 
and concludes: 

**I recommend to you for these reasons the consolidation of 
these departments into one body." 

Conservation Laiv. 

Proceeding on this suggestion, and carrying the idea of 
consolidation still further, the Legislature enacted Chapter 
647 of the Laws of 1911, known as the Conservation Law, and 
covering fifty-four pages of the statute book. It went into 
effect on July 21st, and Governor Dix put his signature to it 
"as a first and long step toward true conservation." 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 235 

1911 (continued) 

It created a State Conservation Commission of three mem- 
bers, appointed by the governor, with salaries of $10,000 per 
annum. The first three were : 

George E. Van Kennen, Chairman, of Ogdensburg, until Dec. 1, 1916 
James VV. Fleming of Troy, until Dec. 1, 1914 

John D. Moore of New York, until Dec 1, 1912 

To this commission were transferred all the powers of the 
Forest, Fish, and Game Commission, the Forest Purchasing 
Board, the State Water Supply Commission, and the Com- 
missioners of Water Power on the Black River. 

The activities of the commission were subdivided as fol- 
lows : 

Division of Lands and Forests, having charge of the admin- 
istration of all laws relating to tree-culture and reforestation, 
and the management of parks, reservations, and lands of the 
State. 

Division of Inland Waters, having charge of water- storage, 
hydraulic development, water-supply, river improvement, ir- 
rigation, and navigation outside of the canals. 

Division of Fish and Game, having charge of the protection 
and propagation of fish and game, including shell-fish. 

These three Divisions were to be headed by three deputy 
commissioners appointed by the commission. The further 
subdivisions of administration will be found on the accom- 
panying chart prepared by the Conservation Commission. 

Thomas Mott Osborne appointed commissioner. 

On January 16th temporary Forest, Fish, and Game Com- 
missioner Austin was succeeded by Thomas Mott Osborne 
of Auburn, the well-known philanthropist who served for a 
while as the Warden of Sing Sing Prison. His appointment 
raised the highest hopes for the welfare of the Adirondacks. 
It was understood that he would be intrusted with the drafting 
of the proposed new Conservation Law, and that he was des- 
tined for the office of Conservation Commissioner. All these 
hopes were disappointed, however. An unfortunate disagree- 
ment with the governor on some questions of forest policy, 



236 A HISTOEY OF THE ADIEONDACKS 

1911 (continued) 

and a breakdown in health, caused Mr. Osborne to resign. 
He was succeeded by James W. Fleming of Troy, who held of- 
fice till the Forest, Fish, and Game Commission was abolished 
in July. 

Forest fires. 

A repetition of the long droughts of 1903 and 1908 occurred 
in the spring of this year, and many forest fires were the re- 
sult. They furnished the first severe test for the new patrol 
and observation system, and it showed an enormous advance 
over the old one. The damage and loss compared with former 
dry years was negligible. (See fire-chart under 1909.) 

Fires from lightning. 

A peculiar feature of the fires of this year was the very large 
number caused by lightning. Those reported as due to this 
agency in 1908 were nine ; in 1909 only eight ; and in 1910 only 
eleven ; but in 1911 the total suddenly jumped to sixty-five. 

1912 

Report for 1912. 

The second report of the Conservation Commission is one 
volume. Outside of the routine matter it contains a discus- 
sion of the '* top-lopping" law, with illustrations. 

Top-lopping law. 

The penalty attaching to the law was repealed this year, so 
that to all intents and purposes it became inoperative. 

New definition of park. 

Chapter 444 of the laws of 1912 also amended the definition 
of the Adirondack Park, making it include all lands within the 
"blue line," whereas it formerly included State lands only. 

Paul Smith's Company wins suit. 

The suit brought in 1908 against the Paul Smithes Electric 
Light and Power and Railroad Company for flooding State 
lands by the building of dams at Franklin Falls and Union 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 237 

1912 (continued) 

Falls, was decided in favor of the company. Judge Kellogg, 
of the Supreme Court at Plattsburg, held that the defendant 
had a prescriptive right to flood the lands in question, and the 
attorney-general took no appeal from the decision. 

1913 

Report for 1913. 

The third report of the Conservation Commission contains, 
outside of routine matter, a lengthy and very interesting 
article on fire-fighting and prevention, with many illustra- 
tions. 

Burd Amendment. 

This year saw the first modification of Section 7 of Article 
VII of the Constitution in the ratification at the polls of what 
was known as the Burd Amendment, allowing three per cent, 
of forest-preserve lands to be flooded for water-storage pur- 
poses. 

Attacks repulsed for nineteen years. 

For nineteen years the ''Gibraltar of Forestry," owing to 
the constant vigilance of its garrison, had successfully 
thwarted the most insidious and incessant attacks of its ene- 
mies. What seemed their final victory was in reality but 
a voluntary concession on the part of the defenders. Had 
the proposed amendment not received their approval and sup- 
port, it is safe to say that it would have met the fate of its 
predecessors. As a matter of fact the Burd Amendment was 
drafted jointly by the Association for the Protection of the 
Adirondacks and the Board of Trade and Transportation. 

Review of situation. 

The warrant for concession lay in changes which the passing 
years had brought. The first attackers of the constitutional 
amendment were mainly the lumber interests, but they met 
with such effective opposition that they finally gave up fight- 
ing for the unattainable. In the meantime, the lust for water- 



238 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 
1913 (continued) 

power began to replace the greed for timber. As the genera- 
tion, and especially the long-distance transmission, of elec- 
trical energy developed, the water-powers of the Adirondacks, 
formerly too remote to be of more than local value, became 
choice plums for a new breed of grabbers. From 1904 to the 
present time the attempts to break through the barrier of Sec- 
tion 7 Article VII have been aimed chiefly at the water behind 
it. But all the bills put forward were sooner or later defeated, 
and the water-power interests became so discouraged that they 
were willing to accept any compromise to which their most 
watchful opponents, the New York Board of Trade and Trans- 
portation and the Association for the Protection of the Adi- 
rondacks, would consent. 

Genesis of Burd Amendment. 

These organizations, it should be noted, were not blind to 
the need and benefit of water-storage in general, and had gone 
on record as being in favor of it in certain cases and under 
certain restrictions ; but they were unalterably opposed to the 
unnecessary and indiscriminate flooding of the Adirondack 
Park for the benefit of private interests. A bill of this nature 
was being pushed by Assemblyman E. A. Merritt, Jr., and 
the danger of its passing was so great that the above organ- 
izations called a public meeting to consider concerted action 
for its defeat. Invitations were sent out to thirty-seven civic 
bodies, most of which responded to the call. As a result of 
this mass meeting and of later conferences held in Albany, the 
Merritt Amendment was withdrawn and all the interested 
parties, including Mr. Merritt himself, agreed to accept and 
support a compromise measure, known as the Burd Amend- 
ment, which read as follows; italics being used for the new 
portion of the amendment : 

BURD AMEND]\IENT 

The lands of the State now owned or hereafter acquired consti- 
tutinpr the Forest Preserve as now fixed by law shall be forever kept 
as wild forest land. They shall not be leased, sold or exchanged, or 
be taken by any corporation, public or private, nor shall the timber 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 239 

1913 {continued) 
thereon be sold, removed or destroyed. But the Legislature may hy 
general laws provide for the use of not exceeding three per centum 
of such lands for the construction and maiyitenance of reservoirs for 
municipal water supply, for the canals of the State and to regulate the 
flow of streams. Such reservoirs shall he constructed, owned and con- 
trolled hy the State, hut such work shall not he undertaken until after 
the houndaries and high flow lines thereof shall have heen accurately 
surveyed and fixed, and after puhlic notice, hearing and determination 
that such lands are required for such public use. The expense of any 
such improvements shall he apportioned on the puhlic and private 
property and municipalities henefited to the extent of the henefits 
received. Any such reservoir shall always be operated hy the State 
and the Legislature shall provide for a charge upon property and 
municipalities henefited for a reasonable return to the State upon the 
value of the rights and property of the State used and the services 
of the State rendered, which shall he fixed for terms not exceeding 
ten years and he readjustahle at the end of any term. Unsanitary 
conditions shall not he created or continued by any such public works. 
A violation of any of the pfovisions of this section may be restrained 
at the suit of the people, or, with the consent of the Supreme Court in 
Appellate Division, on notice to the Attorney -General at the suit of 
any citizen. 

This was carried at the polls by a vote of 486,264 in favor; 
and of only 187,290 against. 

Smith-Gardner Bill relating to Burd Amendment. 

In order to take advantage of the new amendment a con- 
ference was called in the rooms of the Board of Trade and 
Transportation to consider the framing of a proper law for 
reservoir-construction and river-regulation. Hon. Edward 
N. Smith of Watertow^l and Mr. Frank S. Gardner were ap- 
pointed a committee to draft such a measure. They submit- 
ted one that met with the approval of the conferees, and 
which was introduced in the Legislature the following year. 
It failed to pass, however, because Governor Glynn refused 
to approve it unless another bill, considered objectionable by 
the advocates of the former, were passed at the same time. 
The Smith-Gardner Bill was passed later, however. See un- 
der 1916. 



240 A HISTORY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1913 {continued) 

Top-lopping penalty restored. 

Through efforts of the Association for the Protection of 
the Adirondacks the penalty for violating the top-lopping law, 
repealed in 1912, was restored. The association also urged 
Governor Glynn to recommend a bond issue for forest-pre- 
serve purchases, but he was disinclined to do so. 

Death of Henry E. Rowland. 

The association suffered a severe loss this year in the death 
of its president Hon. Henry E. Howland, who died on No- 
vember 10th. He had been the association's only president 
from its permanent organization in January, 1902, until April, 
1912, and was honorary president from then until the time of 
his death. He was succeeded by Mr. John G. Agar. 

1914 

Report for 1914, 

The report for this year is the last bound volume issued by 
the Conserv^ation Commission. It contains the usual routine 
matter, but nothing else of special interest. 

Railroads must continue burning oil. 

The Adirondack railroads petitioned the Public Service 
Commission to be relieved from the necessity of using oil for 
fuel during the fire season. The pros and cons of the question 
were thoroughly threshed out, and the petition denied. 

Trespasses at low eb&. 

Timber-stealing — politely called trespass — reached the 
lowest figure in the history of the Forest Preserve. The 
known depredations amounted to less than $200. 

Pat. McCahe appointed Commissioner. 

The sensation of the year in forest circles was sprung in 
December, when Governor Glynn appointed Patrick MoCabe 
of Albany to succeed James W. Fleming as one of the three 
Conservation Commissioners. It was a thing to make the 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 241 

1914 (continued) 
judicious weep, and the disparity between the man and the 
office was in this case so glaring that even the injudicious were 
incHned to blink. Men high up in the councils of the Demo- 
cratic party protested against the appointment, but in vain. 
Mr. McCabe wanted that particular job with its snug salary, 
and the governor was as clay in the hands of the plotter. The 
comments which this appointment called forth in the press can 
be gaged by quoting one of the least severe of them from a 
paper that shared the politics of the governor. The **New 
York World" said in part: 

McCabe is the boss of Albany. He has been one of Murphy's 
staunches! supporters since the latter assumed the leadership of Tam- 
many Hall. It was McCabe who took the initiative in bringing about 
the impeachment of Mr. Sulzer. He is the most practical of prac- 
tical politicians, a spoilsman and reactionary of the most pronounced 
type, ready to stand for anything and everything that Murphy de- 
crees. 

This indefensible appointment became a direct influence in 
bringing about changes in the Conservation Law that legis- 
lated Mr. McCabe out of oflBce the following year. 

1915 

Report for 1915. 

The report for this year is a paper-bound pamphlet of only 
forty-three pages, and contains nothing but routine matter. 

Governor Whitman recommends changes in Conservation Law. 
In his inaugural message Governor Whitman urged certain 
changes in the Conservation Law, the most important of which 
were summed up as follows: 

First. A single-headed commission. 

Second. A strict requirement in the law that the administrative 
head of each department should be a trained expert. 

Third, A strict requirement in the law that all of the important 
subordinates shall be trained experts, appointed in accordance with 
the provisions of the civil service law. 



242 A HISTORY OF THE ADIEONDACKS 

1915 (continued) 

New Laiv, 

Virtually all of the governor's recommendations had re- 
ceived the approval of the various organizations interested 
in the Adirondacks. They were put into a bill which was 
passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor on 
April 16th. It became Chapter 318 of the Laws of 1915. 

Single-headed commission. 

It provided for a single Conservation Commissioner to be 
appointed by the governor for a period of six years, at a 
salary of $8,000 a year. The commissioner had power to ap- 
point a Deputy Commissioner, also a Superintendent of For- 
ests, who would become Chief of the Divison of Lands and 
Forests ; a Chief Game Protector, who would become Chief of 
the Division of Fish and Game; a Division Engineer, who 
would become Chief of the Division of Waters, and various 
other subordinates. 

George D. Pratt appointed. 

On April 19th Governor Whitman appointed George D. 
Pratt of New York Conservation Commissioner. The selec- 
tion was an excellent one. Mr. Pratt, formerly president 
of the Camp Fire Club of America, was eminently fitted for 
the position which, as the possessor of an independent fortune, 
he accepted solely out of interest for the work it involved. 
He brought to it, moreover, not only the enthusiasm of the 
idealist but the practical ability of the experienced executive. 
This conjunction of advantages has given the woods up to the 
present time (1920) the most progressive and unpolitical ad- 
ministration they have ever enjoyed. 

Educational talks and pictures. 

Commissioner Pratt was a firm believer in the value of edu- 
cational propaganda, and inaugurated a series of informa- 
tive talks given by himself, or members of his staff, on various 
phases of conservation work. To illustrate these talks he 
used motion pictures, often taken by himself. One of the 



LEGISLATIVE CONTEOL 243 

1915 {continued) 
most interesting films rehearsed the drama of a forest fire 
from start to finish. It showed the carelessly thrown match, 
the discovery of smoke from the observation station, the locat- 
ing of the fire, the telephoning, the assembling of the fighters, 
and then the fighting. This method of popular instruction 
has been a potent factor in arousing public interest as never 
before in the commission's activities. 

Squatter problem solved. 

Among the notable advances of the Pratt administration has 
been its handling of the ' * squatter ' ' problem. For years there 
have been hundreds of cases of illegal occupany of State lands, 
of which the authorities were fully aware, but the situation has 
been complicated by title uncertainty, political influence, and 
purely human sympathy. The result has been a Gordian knot, 
which no commissioner made any serious attempt to cut until 
it reached Mr. Pratt. He, however, by using both firmness 
and tact, succeeded in eliminating some seven hundred cases 
out of a heritage of over nine hundred. 

Constitutional Convention. 

Another Constitutional Convention was held in the summer 
of this year. Conservation and the modifying of Section 7 
Article VII had a large share in its deliberations. No less 
than forty-five amendments, bearing directly or indirectly 
on these subjects, were introduced. Finally, after much pro- 
tracted and often heated debate, a conservation article was 
agreed upon. Opinions concerning it differed widely. It was 
strongly opposed by the New York Board of Trade and Trans- 
portation, but had the hearty support of the Association for 
the Protection of the Adirondacks. Public sentiment con- 
cerning it cannot be accurately gaged for it was not voted 
upon as a separate proposition, but merely as part of the Ke- 
vised Constitution as a whole. This was defeated at the 
November election by 893,635 negative to 388,966 affirmative 
votes, making a majority against the proposed revision of 
504,669. Out of six questions submitted to the electorate at 
this time, only one, concerning the Barge Canal, was approved. 



244 A mSTOEY OF THE ADIKONDACKS 

1916 

Report for 1916. 

The report for this year is a paper-bound pamphlet of sixty- 
seven pages, containing nothing but the usual routine and sta- 
tistical matter. 

Bond issue. 

On May 16th Governor "VMiitman signed a bill providing for 
a referendum to the people of a proposed bond issue of 
$10,000,000 for ''the acquisition of lands for State Park pur- 
poses." The proceeds of $2,500,000 of the bonds were to go 
to the extension of the Palisades Interstate Park, and the pro- 
ceeds of the remaining $7,500,000 to the extension of the forest 
preserve. This was the first money made available for the 
purpose since the last appropriation in 1909. Governor 
Hughes had first urged a bond issue in 1910, and the friends 
of forest-extension had made repeated attempts to secure the 
necessary legislation, but without success until Governor 
Whitman came into oflBce. 

Vote on bond issue. 

Even when the Legislature had been induced to act, it was 
found that outside opposition was likely to develop from a 
misunderstanding of the proposition. In order to put the 
matter in the proper light an extensive campaign of education 
was undertaken by the Conservation Commission and inter- 
ested organizations. The result was most gratifying, for the 
proposition was approved by the people by a majority of 
150,496. Analysis of the vote showed that New York City 
virtually carried the referendum, and, what is still more sur- 
prising, that not a single Adirondack county voted in favor 
of it. 

Elk liberated. 

In April of this year a carload of elk was shipped from 
Yellowstone Park and liberated in the Adirondacks. The ex- 
pense was borne mainly by the New York State Order of Elks, 
although the Legislature appropriated $500 for the cost of 
transportation. 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 245 

1916 {continued) 
Wearing of elk teeth condetnned. 

This was the most receut effort to restore these animals 
to the North Woods, and those back of the movement, includ- 
ing the Conservation Commission, believe that if a sufficient 
number of elk can be imported, their ultimate repatriation is 
virtually assured. The Order of Elks is so eager to see this 
brought about that it has condemned the wearing of elk teeth 
as insignia, and has thus removed one inducement to slaughter 
the animals. 

Elk near Long Lake. 

The elk released by Mr. Whitney some fifteen years before 
this were thought to have entirely disappeared, but the Con- 
servation Commission announced the presence in 1915 of a 
herd seen in the vicinity of Long Lake, which would indicate 
that the descendants of the earlier importations were not quite 
extinct. 

Saratoga Springs placed under Conservation Commission. 

A bill was passed this year placing Saratoga Springs under 
the control of the Conservation Commission, as a Fourth Main 
Division of its activities. 

Smith-Gardner Bill becomes Machold Law. 

The Smith-Gardner Bill (see 1913, Burd Amendment), 
under the name of the Machold Law, was introduced in the 
Legislature of 1915, and passed. But it had been so amended 
and emasculated in committee as to be of little value. In spite 
of this it was considered better than nothing, and Governor 
Whitman was urged to sign it, which he did. 

Machold Law amended, hut World War delays operation. 

In 1916 Mr. Frank S. Gardner drafted a bill making impor- 
tant changes and improvements in the Machold Law, and this 
amending bill was passed as Chapter 584 of the Laws of 1916. 
The way was thus satisfactorily prepared at last for making 
use of the privilege conferred by the Burd Amendment of 



248 A HISTOKY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1918 (continued) 
Report for 1918. 

The report for this year is a paper-bound pamphlet of 203 
pages, thicker than the preceding ones and containing more 
of general interest. It opens with a review of "Conservation 
during the War," and calls attention to the number of em- 
ployees of the Conservation Commission that served in the 
forestry regiments. 

Supplementary water-power pamphlet. 

The commission also issued a supplementary pamphlet of 
forty-five pages, giving a brief summary of the water-power 
resources of the State, and showing on a colored map the pro- 
posed reservoir sites in red. As these are mostly (all but 
three) in the Adirondack region, I give that portion of the 
map which shows them, and a table showing the amount of 
land to be flooded in the forest preserve. The report claims 
that 31,000 acres is all that **\\ill be required for practically 
complete development of the water storage possibilities of the 
region." This is less than two per cent, of the total area of 
the preserve, and the Burd Amendment of 1913 allowed the 
use of three per cent, if necessary. The adequacy of this 
amendment is therefore confirmed, and the attitude of those 
who opposed the indiscriminate flood of State lands is fully 
justified. 

The report, how^ever, calls attention to the fact *Hhat no 
provision has yet been made for the development of water 
power on State lands, and that further amendment to the 
Constitution will be necessary to that end." 

Saranac Lake — Old Forge Highway. 

This year saw the second modification of Section 7 of Article 
VII (the first being the Burd Amendment of 1913). The 1918 
amendment provided for a much needed road improvement as 
follows : 

Nothing contained in this section shall prevent the State from con- 
structing a State Highway from Saranac Lake in Franklin County 
to Long Lake in Hamilton County and thence to Old Forge in Herki- 
mer County by way of Blue Mountain Lake and Raquette Lake. 



FOLDOUT 



n 



FOLDOUT 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 249 

1918 (continued) 
This amendment met with very general approval and was 
carried at the November elections by a vote of 609,103 to 
299,899. 

A glance at any road-map will show the need of such a 
measure. There was no connecting link between the good- 
roads system of the western and eastern sides of the moun- 
tains. This amendment made such a connection possible. 

Private funds to help purchase State lands. 

This year there occurred the first tender of private funds to 
iielp the State buy valuable lands for the Forest Preserve. 
The tract involved had been approved for purchase by the 
commissioners of the Land Office, and comprised 1,120 acres 
upon the slopes of Mackenzie and Saddleback mountains, be- 
tween Lake Placid and Saranac Lake. The owners of the 
property were the J. & J. Rogers Co., the International Paper 
Co., and the Champlain Realty Co. In 1917 the International 
Paper Co. began cutting on the slopes toward Lake Placid. 
The prospect of the denudation of this beautiful mountainside, 
with the attendant dangers of fire from the lumber slash, 
aroused the residents of the surrounding country; and the 
Shore Owners' Association of Lake Placid (of which Prof. 
E. R. A. Seligman is president) and the Association for the 
Protection of the Adirondacks became active in urging the 
acquisition of the land by the State. The International Paper 
Co. being asked to suspend operations until the State authori- 
ties could be approached on the subject, acted in a spirit of 
friendly cooperation and stopped cutting; and the Conserva- 
tion Commissioner aided with his sympathetic advice. It ap- 
peared, however, that the dense stand of virgin spruce upon 
the property gave it a higher value than Commissioner Pratt 
felt that the State was justified in paying. In these circum- 
stances, the Shore Owners' Association offered to the State 
the sum of $30,000 as a contribution toward the purchase price, 
and with this aid, Commissioner Pratt recommended and the 
Commissioners of the Land Office in December, 1918, -voted 
that the land be appropriated by the State, the price per ^cre 
to be determined by the Court of Claims. 



250 A HISTOKY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1919 (continued) 
Report for 1919. 

The ninth annual report of the Conservation Commission is 
a paper-bound volume of 250 pages, and many illustrations. 

Registration of guides. 

A new feature to which it calls attention is the registration 
of guides. A law passed this year authorized the commission 
to maintain a register of persons competent to engage in the 
business of guiding, and to furnish approved appli(?ants with 
a license and distinguishing badge. The law is not compul- 
sory, and no guide is obliged to register, but by so doing he 
gains official standing and his name is printed and widely 
distributed through the recreation circulars sent out by the 
Division of Lands and Forests. At the time of the writing 
of the report 1 76 guides had registered, and applications were 
coming in rapidly. 

Educatiofial propaganda. 

That part of the report which treats of the educational 
activities of the Conservation Commission is of such value and 
interest that I quote it here in full : 

With a full realization that in the last analysis all eonservation is 
based upon the cooperation of the public, the Commission has given 
uninterrupted attention to its educational work throughout the past 
year. This work, whose object is to arouse people at large to a cor- 
rect conservation viewpoint, and to mould their minds in conservation 
matters, consists of as wide dissemination as possible of information 
relative to conservation and the Conservation Commission, accom- 
plished through the medium of the written word, of the spoken word, 
and of pictures. 

News articles. 

A large number of news articles for the press, and of special illus- 
trated articles for magazines and Sunday editions of the newspapers, 
have been prepared, every one of which has carried a definite conserva- 
tion message. The system maintained by the Commission for keeping 
account of the results of work of this kind shows that its conservation 
articles were printed and reprinted throughout the State 3,432 times 
during the year 1919. The extent to which these articles are read is 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 251 

1919 {continued) 
amply proved in the case of those which call for communication with 
the C'ommission— a deluge of letters being the usual result of the pub- 
lication of such an article. 

"The Conservationist." 

The Commission's illustrated monthly magazine, "The Conserva- 
tionist," has been published regularly during the year. A special 
campaign was carried on for the purpose of increasing the number of 
subscribers, with the result that the subscription roll has been more 
than doubled. 

** Violations of the Conservation Law.*' 

"Wide demand by the newspapers and others for the Commission's 
monthly statement of "Violations of the Conservation Law," has 
necessitated an increase in the edition. This publication serves the 
double purpose of. showing just what the Commission is accomplish- 
ing along these lines, and also of giving publicity to the names of the 
law breakers. This, in itself, has been found to have an excellent 
educational value, as there are doubtless many persons who are de- 
terred from transgressing the law by the knowledge that their names 
would be spread abroad in the light of day. "This publication is 
worth five protectors in my district," said a certain sportsman re- 
cently, and the same sentiment has been expressed over all parts of 
the State. 

Lectures. 

With the close of the war an increased demand for lectures was 
immediately noticeable. In fact the number of requests for the Com- 
mission's lectures is now becoming so great that it is impossible to 
accede to all invitations. Dnrinu: 1919, 95 lectures have been given 
in all parts of the State, with a speaker from the Commission. This 
is an increase of 60 per cent, over 1918, when 58 lectures were given. 
As but few lectures are given during the summer months, it will be 
seen that during the lecture season the actual number delivered aver- 
aged more than two a week. 

Children and grown-ups. 

On two occasions it was possible to arrange a series of lectures in 
one section on successive dates. A motor truck was employed to con- 
vey the outfit from one center to another, in this way making possible, 
in some instances, three lectures in one day. It is also becoming a 



252 A HISTOEY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 

1919 (continued) 

not uncommon practice for centers in which an evening lecture for 
grown-ups has been scheduled, to request an afternoon lecture on the 
same day for children. Occasionally the auditorium of a high school 
has twice been filled for successive lectures to young people during the 
afternoon, in advance of a lecture to an adult audience in the evening. 

Personal contact. 

One of the main benefits derived from the lectures is the personal 
contact of representatives of the Commission with the varied types of 
audiences that are gathered together at the different centers. The 
lectures have been given by many different men in the Commission, 
each man speaking, as far as possible, upon the subjects that come 
within his own particular sphere. At every such meeting, members 
of the audience are encouraged to ask questions and to clear up in 
their own minds matters which may have been a source of misunder- 
standing. Thus, as a result of a better comprehension of what the 
Conservation Commission is, and what it is doing, its aims and ideals 
are spread abroad and a healthy spirit of cooperation is fostered. 

Record of audiences. 

At the beginning of the year a system was inaugurated of keeping 
a record of audiences at each lecture. The total of these figures shows 
that 21,570 persons were reached at the different lectures. The size 
of audiences varied from 15 to 1,500, although the average was 
about 225. 

Films and slides. 

In addition to the lectures that have been given with a speaker, the 
Commission's films and slides have many times been sent to points 
within the State, and also to other states, without a speaker. Certain 
of the conservation films, which were in use in the military camps 
during the war, have not cea-sed their usefulness since the war ended, 
but are now going the rounds of large manufacturing centers and be- 
ing used in connection with the welfare work of the plants. In one 
week these films have been shown in factories where as many as 80,000 
persons are employed. 

Large stock of pictures. 

Considerable additions to the Commission's file of photographs, 
motion picture films and slides have been made during the year. An 
excellent new reel of animal subjects has been prepared which is now 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 253 

121d (continued) 
being used at many of the lectures. Another new reel of bird life 
scenes is also proving very popular and instructive. The Commis- 
sion's stock of pictures is now so comprehensive that when it is neces- 
sary to schedule lectures by different speakers on the same evening, 
there is ample illustrative material at hand, and the necessity for 
duplication in visiting a center a second time is also obviated. 

Killing of does allowed. 

This year saw the passage of a rather surprising hunting- 
law allo\\4ng the shooting of does. Heretofore the existing 
''buck law" permitted the taking of two deer with horns not 
less than three inches long. The new law, known as the 
Everett Bill, allowed the killing of one deer of either sex. 

The measure had many advocates, but aroused much 
weighty opposition and wide-spread discussion. The gover- 
nor gave a public hearing on the bill before signing it. This 
conference was largely attended, and the pros and cons of each 
side were exhaustively set forth. The supporters of the 
measure honestly believed it would lessen the number of does 
illegally killed under the "buck law." This contention could 
be disproved only by actual test, and this the governor decided 
to make. In signing the bill, he added a memorandum which 
closed as follows : 

'*It is therefore approved, as a test, so that it may be determined 
from actual experience during the next hunting season as to whether 
the existing law or the measure now under consideration actually tends 
to the greater preservation of the wild deer in our forests." 

The test was made during the hunting-season of 1919, and 
the result left no doubt in any open mind. The slaughter of 
does was pitifully large, and the Conservation Commission re- 
ports indicated that more bucks were killed than in a ''buck- 
law" year. 

1920 

Annual report. 

The tenth annual report of the Conservation Commission 
will appear too late for comment here. 



254 A HISTOEY OF THE ADIKONDACKS 

1920 (continued) 
"Buck law" reenacted. 

The wide-spread revulsion of feeling against the legalized 
killing of does, after the hunting-season of 1919, resulted in a 
recommendation from Governor Smith that the "buck law" be 
reenacted. Assemblyman Thayer introduced such a measure 
and it was promptly passed and signed. It allows the killing 
of one buck only, having horns at least three inches long, and 
curtails the hunting-season in the Adirondacks from six to 
four weeks, making it from October 15th to November 15th. 

Second appropriation from bond issue. 

The first $2,500,000 appropriated by the Legislature for the 
enlargement of the Forest Preserve, according to the bond 
issue of $7,500,000 approved in 1916, having been expended 
or pledged, a bill was introduced in the Legislature on March 
25th, by Senator Marshall, and by Assemblyman Thayer, ap- 
propriating $2,500,000 more for this purpose. The bill was 
passed and became Chapter 681 of the Laws of 1920. 

Annual attack on Constitution. 

This year the annual attempt to amend Section 7 of Article 
Vll of the Constitution took the form of a concurrent resolu- 
tion introduced in the Senate on April 2d by Mr. Ferris. It 
includes in the purposes for which the Legislature may by law 
provide for the use of three per cent, of the forest preserve 
area provision for "the development of water power and for 
rights of way for electric transmission lines, all of which are 
hereby declared to be public uses." It also provides that 
"any such water power may be leased for terms of not exceed- 
ing ten years." 

The resolution was considered by many less objectionable 
in principle than in its ambiguity of phrasing, and the Associa- 
tion for the Protection of the Adirondacks sought to have it 
more carefully redrafted. The attempt failed, however, and 
the resolution was passed in its unsatisfactory form. It can- 
not become effective, of course, unless passed again by the 
Legislature of 1921 or 1922, and ratified by the people at a 
general election. 



LEGISLATIVE CONTROL 255 

1920 {continued) 

The struggle of the future. 

In conclusion it should be said that attacks on Section 7 of 
Article VII bid fair to be more persistent, and perhaps more 
successful than ever. The scarcity of lumber, pulp-wood, and 
of newsprint has caused some of the New York papers to start 
an educational campaign for a more productive forest policy. 
The movement has the support of some well-known men. The 
plea is made that the "bad days" in the Adirondacks are 
over, and that the time has come to open them to scientific cut- 
ting and replanting — which is true conservation. The justice 
and wisdom of the theory no one will deny, and popular senti- 
ment is undoubtedly inclining more and more to give it a trial. 
It seems highly probable, therefore, that the forest struggle 
of the future will center around the safeguards of such a trial, 
rather than in unyielding opposition to it. 

LIST OF APPROPRIATIONS 

FOB THE 

PURCHASE OF LANDS 

IN THE 

FOREST PRESERVE 

1890 $ 25,000 

1895 600,000 

1897 1,000,000 

1898 500,000 

1899 300,000 

1900 250,000 

1904 250,000 

1906 400,000 

1907 500,000 

1909 200,000 

A referendum approved by the people in 1916 provided that 
the Legislature might, from time to time, authorize the issu- 
ance of bonds totaling not more than $7,500,000. In the spring 
of 1917, $2,500,000 of this amount was made available, and 
another $2,500,000 was authorized in 1920. 



256 A HISTOEY OF THE ADIRONDACKS 



TABLE OF FOREST PRESERVE LANDS i 

Date Acres 

1885 

May 18, 1886 681,374 

1887 

Dec. 31, 1888 '803,164 

1889 

1890 

1891 731,674 
Dec. 31, 1892 676,738 

1893 

1894 731,459 



Jan. 20, 1897 801,473 

Sep. 30, 1898 852,392 

Dec. 31, 1899 1,109,140 

Dec. 31, 1900 1,290,987 

Mar. 23, 1901 1,306,327 

Jan. 1, 1902 1,325,851 

Jan. 1, 1903 1,305,532 

Jan. 1, 1904 

Jan. 1, 1905 1,306,700 

Jan. 1, 1906 1,347,280 

Jan. 1, 1907 1,415,775 

Jan. 1, 1908 1,438,999 

Jan. 1, 1909 1,481,998 

Jan. 1, 1910 1,530,.559 

Jan. 1, 1911 1.530,783 

Jan. 1, 1912 1,531,648 

Jan. 1, 1913 1,53*),I81 

Jan. 1, 1914 1,713,697 

Jan. 1, 1915 1,710,501 

Jan. 1, 1916 1,702,506 

Jan. 1, 1917 1,701,894 

Jan. 1, 1918 1,702,136 

Jan. 1, 1919 1,721,598 

1 This table is taken from the Eighteenth Annual Report of the Association for 
the Protection of the Adirondacks. It was compiled from official sources and 
verified by Mr. A. B. Strough, Land Clerk of the Conservation Commission. 

The diminishing totals of some of the early years are due to lands redeemed 
or otherwise lost by the State. 



APPENDIX A 

INDIAN GRANT TO TOTTEN AND CROSSFIELD 

To All People to whome these presents shall come Greeting Know 
Ye that we Hendrick alias Tayahansara, Lourance alias Agguragies, 
Hans alias Canadajaure, & Hans Krine alias Onagoodhoge, Native 
Indians of the Mohock Castle send Greeting, whereas, Joseph Totten 
and Stephen Crossfield and others of his majes.ty's Subjects their 
Associates did lately petition the Right Honorable John Earle of Dun- 
more Captain General & Governor in chief in and over the province 
of New York and the territories depending thereon in America, Chan- 
cellor & Vice Admiral of the same in Council setting forth, among 
other things, in substance that by his most Gracious Majestys Royal 
proclamation given at the Council of St. James's the Seventh day of 
October in the third Year of the Reign reciting that whereas great 
Frauds and abuses had been committed in purchasing Lands of the 
Indians to the great prejudice of his Majestys Interests and to the 
great dissatisfaction of the said Indians, his said Majesty by and with 
the Advice of his privy Council did thereby strictly enjoin and re- 
quire that no private person do presume to purchase of the Native 
Indian proprietors any Lands not ceded to or purchased by his 
Majesty within those parts of his Majestys Colonies where he has 
thought proper to allow of Settlements but that if at any time any of 
the said Indians should be inclined to dispose of the said Lands the 
said should be purchased by his Majestys Governor or Commander 
in Chief of the said Colonies respectively within which they shall 
be and also setting forth in Substance that there is a certain un- 
patented Tract of Land lying and being on Sagondago or the West 
branch of Hudsons River beginning at the N. Wt. Corner of John 
Bergen's Petition & runs N. 30 Wt. until a line coming west 10 miles 
north of Crown Point shall intersect it, thence East to the north East 
branch of Hudsons River, thence down the same to a Tract of Land 
petitioned for by Edward & Ebenezer Jessup thence S. 60 Wt. to the 
place of beginning containing, by estimation, 800,000 Acres which 
Tract had never been ceded to or purchased by his Majesty or his 
Royal projenetors and predecessors but doth still remain Occupied 
by the Native Indians of the Mohock Castle, and also setting forth 
our willingness to dispose of our Native Indian Rights in favor of 
the Said Petitioners and thai'- Associates and our unwillingness to 

257 



258 APPENDICES 

make a conveyance of the Said Tract of Land in favor of any other 
Person whatsoever & that we the said Indians did then (as we now do) 
stand ready to convey the said Tract of Land in manner directed 
by the said royal proclamation provided that the said Petitioners & 
their Associates may be preferred to all other of his Majestys Sub- 
jects in a Grant of the same, and that his Excellency would be pleased 
at their Expense to make such purchase as aforesaid, and that they 
and their Associates might thereupon be favored with a Grant of the 
said Tract of Land under the Quit Rents and upon the Terms and 
Conditions prescribed by his Majestys Instructions all which Allega- 
tions and Suggestions in the said Petition we do hereby Acknowledge 
and Declare to be true. Now Therefore Know Ye that we the said 
Indians for and in behalf of ourselves and our Nation at a publick 
Meeting or Assembly with his Excellency William Tryon, Esquire, 
his Majestys Captain General & Commander in Chief of the province 
of New York &c. &c. &c. at Johnson Hall pursuant to his ^Majestys 
Royal Proclamation aforesaid do now declare our intentions and in- 
clinations to dispose of the said Tract of Land above described in the 
Comities of Tryon and Albany in favor of the said Petitioners and 
their Associates and accordingly by these presents at the said publick 
Meeting and Assembly held for the purpose with the Assistance of 
John Butler Es(}uire Interpreter to us well known do for and in Con- 
sideration of the Sum of Eleven Hundred and thirty-five Pounds 
lawful Money of New York to us in hand paid by the said Petitioners 
and the further sum of five Shillings like lawful Money to us in hand 
paid by his said Excellency' in behalf of his most Sacred Majesty 
George the third King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, de- 
fender of the faith &c. the receipt whereof we do hereby confess and 
acknowledge and thereof and therefrom and of and from every part 
and parcel thereof we do fully and freely & absolutely release Ex- 
onerate and forever discharge his said Majesty, his Heirs, Successors 
and Assigns & the said Petitioners & their Assigns, their Executors 
Adiministrators and Assigns forever by these presents and also in 
order to enable the said Petitioners and their Associates to obtain 
his Majestys Grant in fee simple for all the said Tract of Land above 
described within the limits and bounds hereinbefore mentioned as 
fully and as effectually as if the same were herein more particularly 
& exactly described Have Granted, Bargained, Sold aliend, released, 
Conveyed infeoffed, ceded. Disposed of Surrendered & confirmed and 
by these presents do fully freely and absolutely grant Bargain, Sell, 
Alien release, Convey, infeoff. Cede dispose of Surrender and Con- 
firm unto his said Majesty King George the third, his Heirs, Sue- 



APPENDICES 259 

cessors and Assigns forever all and singular the Tract & Tracts, parcel 
& parcels, Quantities and Quantities of Land be the same more or less 
within the General Boundaries and Limits above mentioned, Contained 
and Comprehended And Also all and singular the Trees, Woods, Un- 
derwoods, Eivers, Streams, Ponds, Creeks, Rivulets, Brooks, Runs and 
Streams of water. Waters, Water-Courses, profits, Comodities, Ad- 
vantages, Emoluments, privileges, Hereditaments and Appurtenances 
to all and singular the said Lands, Tracts or parcels of Land or any 
and every part and parcel Thereof with the appurtances, thereunto 
belonging or in any wise appertaining and the reversion and rever- 
sions, remainder & remainders, rents, Issues and profits of all and 
singular the said Tracts and parcels of Land and every part and 
parcel thereof and also all the Estate, Right, Title, Interest property 
Claim and Demand Avhatsoever whether native legal or Equitable, 
of us the said Indians, and each and every of us of in or to the said 
Lands Tracts or parcels of lands and any and every part and parcel 
thereof hereby meant, mentioned or intended to be hereby Granted 
bargained Sold, Aliened, Released, Conveyed, Enfeoffed, Ceded, Dis- 
posed of, Surrendered and Confirmed with their and every of their 
Rights, Members and Appurtances unto his said Majesty King 
George the third, his Heirs, Successors and Assigns forever In Wit- 
ness Whereof w^e the said Indians in behalf of ourselves and Our 
Nation have hereunto set our Hands and Seals in the presence of his 
said Excellency and of the other persons Subscribing as witness here- 
unto at the aforesaid publick jMeeting or Assembly held for that pur- 
pose at Johnson Hall this 15th day of July in the twelfth Year of his 
said ]\Iajestys Reign and in the Year of Our Lord one thousand seven 
hundred & Seventy two. 

Seai>ed and Delivered Hendricks (Mark) 

in the presence of us, Abrams (Mark) 

Pat. Daly Agwhrraeghje 

John Butler. Johans Crim 

Received on the day and Year above written of the within William 
Tryon Esquire the sum of five shillings and of the within named pe- 
titioners the sum of Eleven hundred & thirty-five pounds lawful 
Money of New York being the full consideration Money within men- 
tioned. 

Hendricks (Mark) 
Abrams (Mark) 
Agwtrraeghje 
Johans Crim 



260 APPENDICES 

I do herby Certify that the within Deed was Executed and the 
consideration Money paid in my presence. 

Wm. Tryon. 



APPENDIX B 

HISTORICAL NOTES 

OF THE 

SETTLEMENT ON No. 4, 

BROWN'S TRACT, 

IN WATSON, 

LEWIS COUNTY, N. Y. 

WITH 

NOTICES OF THE EARLY SETTLERS 



"Neque semper arcum tendit ApolloJ 



UTICA, N. Y. 

Roberts, Printer, (iO Genesee Street 

1864 

[On the page facing tliis imprint is a photograph of Orrin Fenton. 

Photograph by Van Aken, Lowville, N. Y.] 

The following Notes were chiefly prepared for the consideration of 
a Club formed with a view, in part, to the local history of Lewis 
County, and not for publication. Proud of its past, and solicitous of 
its future annals: To those living of the Early Settlers of the Black 
River Country, and the descendants of those dead, this Historical 
Brick from the hearthstone of a well-known locality in that Country, 
is respectfully inscribed. 

Martinsburgh, June 1, 1864. W. Hudson Stephens. 

CHAPTER I 

ROUTE 

From Mount Tahawus, (Marcy) the Adirondac range — the Moun- 
tain, Lake, and Wilderness region of New York — slopes to Lake Cham- 
plain and River St. Lawrence, on the E. and N., and the Black River 
on the "West. Upon the Western base the locality of No. 4 is situated. 
The distance over Rail and Plank Road from Trenton Falls to Low- 
ville is forty-one miles. It is a journey thence of eighteen miles from 
Lowville. 

Passing the spot where the first settlers of Lowville rested with their 



APPENDICES 261 

families on the first night of their settlement of the new township 
—10th April, 1798; the old swing-gate guarding the Black River 
flats, erected so long ago the record of its legal existence has died out 
from the Town book; the curvilinear road on the river bank, where 
negligence or town penury has sacrificed so many horses; the State 
swing-bridge over the River Improvement, with its works of support 
and defense against the stream, and famous in recent State political 
struggles; the grove-surrounded residence of Commissioner Beach; 
the Church upon the plain of Watson, fixing the landscape from the 
West; the home of "Hunter" Higby— the volunteer at fifty-five; the 
solid brick school-house; the square-roofed residence of Ex-Sheriff 
Kirly, now the home of the Fenton; over sand deep and hard— hill, 
level, and stream, beyond Crystal Lake, and across the famous Black 
Creek — we stop at Robert Griffiths, the justice, hunter, and local 
preacher, with its chain-pump in front, and the school-house op- 
posite. It is the last school-house we shall find. 

An irregular, winding road, through woods for eight miles, and we 
emerge amid partially cleared lands, with here and there an apple 
and cherry tree in the grass plot of a deserted farm — into quite a 
"Deserted Village" — houses without tenants — barns wanting boards 
and crops — an abandoned school-house, windows out and door gone — 
into the cultivated clearing of No. 4. Beyond Chauncey Smith's, 
on the left, and the Champlain Road, extending eighty miles into the 
Wilderness, on the right ; the red house of Fenton, perched on the 
brow of the hill, is approached by the road leading down to Wet- 
more 's, and through the lot to the landing on Beaver Lake. (Francis, 
Wood, Salmon, Beaver Dam, and Crooked Lakes are easy of access 
from No. 4. Trout and salmon are the principal fish. Deer Stalking 
frequent and successful. "Floating" in June — May and September, 
principal fishing.) 

Mountains covered with evergreen, huge, and stretching away into 
the distance — the indented lake with its islands, and beach crowded 
with fishing craft, and an occasional shanty— with the breeze wafting 
the dull, resonant sound of the waters at "the Palls" on the river be- 
low—who, fresh from the settled Valley of the Black River, ever loses 
the impress from memory's tablet which this first view ever makes 
on the enraptured vision? How appropriate here the rejected verses 
of Gray 's ' ' Elegy ' ' : 

How the sacred calm that breathes around, 
Bids every fierce, tumultuous passion cease; 

In .still, small accents, whispering from the ground 
A grateful earnest of eternal peace. 



262 APPENDICES 

There scattered oft, the earliest of the year, 

By liands unseen are showers of violets found; 

The redbreast loves to build and warble there, 
And little footsteps lightly print the ground. 



CHAPTER II 
• THE FIRST FISHING PARTIES 

To realize No. 4, is to seek and find repose — exclusion and "with- 
out care" — from the treadmill of labor, the anxieties of politics, the 
perplexities of traflfic, and from the chain-like task of a weary and 
overtaxed brain. Here, in the earlier annals of Lewis County, Alex- 
ander "W. Stow, I. W. Bostwick, and others departed, sought convivial 
hours and glorious freedom. It is a place 

"For all ye wretched mortals 

Aspiring to be rich 
And ye whose gilded coaches 

Have tumbled in the ditch." 

From the traditions about the camp fire, the reminiscences of other 
days, with characteristics of the actors, are easily gathered. 

Of the first fishing party to No. 4 (1818 or '19), were Cornelius 
Low (agent, with Bostwick, of his father, Nicholas Low of New York 
City, proprietor of Lowville from 1818 to 1826. Was a brother of 
I\rrs. Charles King, President of Columbia College. Died 1849). 
Heman Stickney (owned an oil mill on the site of Willard's factory, 
Lowville ; brother-in-law of Ehud Stephens, who with Jonathan Rogers 
were first settlers of Lowville). Otis Whipple (Lowville merchant; 
years before his death a resident of Utica). Charles Dayan (student 
of Bostwick and Low ; State Senator in 1828, and president pro tern, of 
the same; defeated by Silas Wright, Jr., 1829, for Comptroller, in 
Legislative Caucus; in Congress, 20th District, from 1831 to 1833, 
and a member of Committee on Manufactures), Russell Parish, 
(graduate of Yale College, 1813; law\'er at Lowville; member of Con- 
stitutional Convention, 1846, from Lewis County. Died 1855, at Low- 
ville). Samuel Rogers (son of Capt. Rogers of Lowville; educated 
at Hamilton College, a lawyer. Married and died at New Orleans) 
with Thomas Puffer as guide. (Puffer was a native of Princeton, 
Mass. ; settled in Watson about 1800, and was for many years the only 
settler. Died about 1836. A large family survives him, among 
them, Isaac, widely known as "chapter and verse" minister of the 
M. E. Church.) They went with team as far as John Beach's (seven 



APPENDICES 263 

miles east of Black River) thence on foot, having Sam Roger's hor- 
rowed horse with packages. 

The most noticeable incidents of this pioneer party who camped 
at "Fish Hole" and fished at Beaver Falls for eight days early in 
June, were the naming of the creek at Fish Hole, "Sunday Creek," 
alike from their attachment to the name and it being commemorative 
of the day of their camping there ; the burning at the camp fire, by 
Low, of both his boots, and the improvising of bark ones; and that 
Sam lost his horse, which was found after an absence of three weeks. 

The following year, Alex. W. Stow, James T. Watson, and Ziba 
Knox tried their luck at the locality for one week. 

Stow was a native of Lowville. Removing from Lowville, he died, 
September 14, 1854, at Milwaukee, Chief Justice of Wisconsin; son of 
Judge Silas Stow of Lowville, and brother of Horatio J. Stow, late of 
Erie County. 

James Taleott Watson made the first attempt to settle these lands 
(Watson) and for many years was accustomed to spend his summers 
in the country, at Lowville. He was a man of fine education and 
affable manners, and in early life was a partner in the house of Thos. 
L. Smith & Co., East India Merchants, in which capacity he made 
a voyage to China. The death of a Miss Livingston, to whom he was 
engaged to be married, induced a mental aberration which continued 
through life, being more aggravated in certain seasons of the year, 
while at others it was scarcely perceptible. In after life, the image 
of the loved and lost often came back to his memory, like the sunbeam 
from a broken mirror, and in his waking reveries he was heard to 
speak of her as present in the spirit, and a confidant of his inmost 
thoughts. 

In his business transactions Mr. Watson often evinced a caprice 
which was sometimes amusing, and always innocent. This was, by 
most persons, humored, as tending to prevent any unpleasant result, 
which opposition might at such times have upon him. In the summer 
of 1838, he undertook to cultivate an immense garden, chiefly of 
culinary vegetables, upon his farm in Watson ; beginning at a season 
when under the most favorable conditions nothing could come to ma- 
turity, and insisting that he would be satisfied if the seeds only 
sprouted, as this would prove the capacity of his land. 

In his social intercourse Mr. Watson often evinced, in a high degree, 
many noble and manly qualities. With a lively fancy and ready 
command of language, he had the power of rendering himself emi- 
nently agreeable, while many of those who settled upon his tract will 
bear witness that he possessed a kind and generous heart. But there 



264 APPENDICES 

were moments when the darkest melancholy settled upon him, utterly 
beyond relief from humany sj^mpathy; and in one of these he ended 
his own life. He committed suicide with a razor, in New York, Janu- 
ary 29, 1839, at the age of 50 years. His estate was divided among 
thirty -nine first cousins on his father's side, and five on his mother's 
side ; and some of these shares were further subdivided among numer- 
ous families. The sixty thousand acres, when divided, gave to a 
cousin's share over sixteen hundred acres, but some parcels amounted 
to but thirty-three acres. This sketch of Watson is from Hough's 
Lewis County. 

Its earlier reputation — No. 4, has one for purity, for peace, and 
innocent abandon — kindly cared for, has brought frequenters from a 
distance. Here the massive brain and keen perceptive qualities which, 
as Chief Justice of the State (Comstoek, of Syracuse,) pronounced 
the judicial fiat of its highest court against legislation trenching on 
reserved privilege; the legal giant (B. Davis Noxon) of the Fifth Dis- 
trict, venerable and replete with learning, to whom the "hour" rule 
of the Court seems to have no reference; and that fatherly Judge (D. 
Pratt) laborious and faithful to the public business, who could con- 
sent to stay in Lewis County over one week to discharge his functions, 
and others have been found refreshing their jaded intellectual powers, 
lulled by nature's kindest harmonies. Constable's "shanty" at No. 
4, and the "Point" on Raquette Lake, forty miles beyond, and the 
names of ladies on the "Notched Tree" on top of Mt. Emmons (Blue 
Mountain) eighty miles in the wilderness from Lowville, reveal who 
are frequenters of the attractive regions of the Adirondac; while 
the annual return of a member of the New York Sportman's Club 
(Judge Stevens, of Hoboken) throwing a line of one hundred and 
fifty feet with reel, impresses its value on the Waltonian. 

CHAPTER III 

PRESENT SETTLEMENT 

In 1822, a settlement was begun in the eastern border of the town 

(Watson) on No. 4, Brown's Tract, by Aaron Barber and Bunce. 

In 1826, Orrin Fenton settled, "and is still, with one exception, the 
only settler living in that part of the town. ' ' 

Hough's Lewis Co. "Watson" p. 225. 

This is the chronicle of the local historian of the settlement of this, 
one of the most interesting localities in the county. Here Fenton 
and his "busy housewife" have lived for nearly forty years. 



APPENDICES 265 

"Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife, 

Their sober wishes never learned to stray; 
Along the cool sequestered vale of life, 

They kept the noiseless tenor of their way." 

His- head is whitened with the snows of seventy-nine winters, 

"While years 
Have pushed his bride of the woods, with soft and inoffensive pace, 
Into the stilly twilight of her age." 

With an intimate knowledge of every locality within miles, the 
''runways" of deer, the haunt of bear and panther, and resort of 
game ; the discoverer of lakes and streams, fish-holes, beaver meadows, 
-and windfalls; a faithful disciple of Walton — he has quietly pursued 
his gentle avocations of the fisherman and hunter, remote from busy 
haunts, and secluded beyond most men from the world, far above 
the average of life; relinquishing them only when time's mutations, 
crossing his threshold, has removed his (fourteen) children to other 
scenes, and made sad havoc on his once athletic frame. For about 
eighteen years, two families. Smith and Wetmore, have been his only 
neighbors. (Chauncey Smith, an old-school hunter, has keep for 
teams of the south branch of Beaver River, on the Champlain road, 
eighteen miles east of No. 4, and is the only sojourner between No. 4, 
and Raquette.) Without litigation — almost beyond all public duty 
or burdens, except the draft (the call of war reaches every abode) 
these families, without school or ministration, have mingled the duties 
of the farm and sports of the field and stream. As if to mock them 
of their happiness the town elected Arettus Wetmore a constable, and 
imposed road duties upon another — but the processes which the one 
carries are as scarce as the victims of written law within the great area 
of nature which, with his unerring rifle, he so often traverses. 



CHAPTER IV 

FIRST SETTLERS ON NO. 3 AND 4 

But our concern is with the past of this No. 4— its history, hopes, 
settlement, and people. The first settler in its vicinity is believed 
to have been Ephraim Craft, on the Champlain road, beyond No. 4, 
on this (west) side of Beaver River. 

One Lippincott first bought and lived one season at No. 4, in a 
stockade of upright sticks, between Francis and Beaver Lake. 

As in remote localities in new countries, inducements were offered 
to the earlier settlers. In the West a free village lot or water right ; 



266 APPENDICES 

here, a farm of one hundred acres to the first ten settlers. Men yield 
to them to find often, East and West, the inducement is about all the 
pre-emptioner ever obtains. These presented as varied characters of 
usefulness and merit as the fish abundant in their streams and lakes. 
The "old road" — now in desuetude, on No. 3, leading from Bush's 
Saw Mill, crossing Burnt Creek three times, to Smith's — was the 
scene of early effort ; there, upon its bush-grown track, may still be 
seen the homes and hearthstones, eloquent in decay, around which 
trustful and hopeful childhood played and whiled away its "young 
hours," with their uncultivated gardens and orchards of ungathered 
fruit. 

Here Chester Douglass, of Leyden, and Roswell Chubb settled, and 
here Chubb 's wife died. The house and orchard of Robert Griffiths, 
'Sr., where several of his boys were born — among them, William, lately 
drowned in the inlet of Tupper's Lake — is on the "old road," about 
two miles from No. 4. He removed to No. 4, on the now Chauncey 
Smith lot. 

CHAPTER V 
THE PRE-EMPTIONERS 

The ten pre-emptioners are stated as follows: 

Aaron Barber, settled opposite and below Fenton's, now deceased. 

Benjamin Bunce — his shanty was on Fenton's lot towards Beaver 
Lake, on the same side of the road. 

William Chandler, settled on corner lot of Champlain road. Lives 
West. 

Levi Barber, settled where Fenton lived on Stow's Square. 

Lorenzo Post, settled opposite Chauncey Smith's — now deceased. 

Hezekiah Tiffany, settled below Smith's — died at No. 4, buried near 
Wetmore. 

Ives B. Rich, settled 1823, resides in Wisconsin. 

John Gordon, whom Daniel Wilder bought out — now Wetmore's 
place. 

John Rettis, settled 1826, now of Lowville. 

Jabez Carter, settled in February 1825, on one hundred and two acres 
under contract with Herreshoff to remain thereon four years, to clear 
sixteen acres and build a house and barn, for which he was to receive at 
the expiration of the four years a deed of his "inducement." He re- 
moved therefrom in December, 1831, but not without giving the set- 
tlement the benefit of his varied skill and capacity, he having taught 
at No. 4, the first school of about thirty-five scholars at fifteen dollars 






APPENDICES 267 

per month, and boarded himself. He engaged in the mercantile busi- 
ness and potash manufacture, and established a still for expressing 
hemlock, balsam, and tamarae oils, of which he marketed a total of 
one hundred pounds. He also acted one year as superintendent of 
the common school, of which he was the teacher, and trusted out as 
a permanent sinking fund about $300 of his goods and groceries for 
the general well-being of the infant settlement. He still retains, how- 
ever, the fee of his one hundred and two acres, with its ninety cents 
yearly tax ; though his attention at the age of seventy-three in public 
affairs is engrossed in the manifold and multiplied duties of Liquor 
Commissioner of Lewis County, residing at Lowville. 
One Douglass succeeded him as teacher, removing West. 

CHAPTER VI 

SUBSEQUENT SETTLERS — FENTON 'S PANTHER HUNT 
RELIGIOUS INTEREST 

Of the first shoal of settlers endeavoring to fix a permanent abode 
in the Wilderness, at No 4, were : Peter Wakefield, who settled on 
the now Smith place, about 1826 or 1827 ; which place was thereafter 
occupied by Wilbur Palmer; Isaac Wetmore (son of Reuben, of 
Spencertown, Columbia County, N. Y.) about 1834, the white slab 
of whose grave (he died September 11, 1853) is visible from the road- 
side below Fenton's and to draft whose will, L. C. Davenport of the 
Lowville Bar, traveled twenty miles and back ; Orrin Fenton (son of 
Ebenezer) born July 1, 1784, at Mansfield, Conn., and successively a 
resident of Windsor, Champion, and Lowville, and who, losing his 
wife, — Barber, by whom he had seven children — five now living — 
afterwards married at Lowville, Lucy Weller, of Westficld, Mass. (of 
their three boys and two girls, four survive) settled at No. 4, March 
21, 1826. Of all these settlers, but Fenton remains, *'a rude fore- 
father of the hamlet. ' ' 

One incident illustrative of Fenton's early forest experience must 
suffice. About 1835, Fenton set, about half a mile from Beaver Lake, 
and ten rods from the river of that name, a wolf trap secured by a 
chain to a sapling. On visiting his trap he was somewhat surprised 
at not finding it, and by marks upon shrubs he traced it to a cedar 
swamp. Examining carefully, he discovered a big track, and arm- 
ing himself with a club, advanced to a closer acquaintance with the 
possessor of the trap ; but finding on the bushes gray hair instead of 
black, he wisely concluded it was not a bear but a wolf. While pur- 
suing carefully the track, he discovered, crouched upon all fours be- 



268 APPENDICES 

side a log, ten feet from him, a large panther with the lost trap on his 
fore foot, Fenton made for the other side of the log with his club, 
when the panther ran from him some ten rods, bearing the trap. 
Concluding the job with his club he found would be larger than he 
expected, so he went back for his rifle, and returned, with I. Wetmore, 
to where he had left the panther. Fenton fired at four rods, hitting 
him below the eye, but did not kill him. He jumped up and faced 
his adversaries, growled, and savagely showed his "ivories," when a 
second shot by Fenton brought him down. He weighed about two 
hundred pounds, and measured nine feet from tip to tip. 
About 1832-35, there were about seventy-five settlers, and in 1842, 

a religious revival took place, at which Elder Blodget and others 

ministered, making sixty converts. 

CHAPTER VII 
AGENTS — DECAY OF SETTLEMENT — DAYAN's BET — JAMES 0'KA.NE 

As one by one the pioneers removed to more inviting localities, new 
ones came in — a squatter upon the improvements of the last owner, 
remained a short period, and followed his predecessor. Upon some 
of the lots several in succession settled and then departed, as the 
clouds of disaster settled, and disappointed hope grew gloriously 
feeble. 

Hence, George Turner was found on the Chandler lot, and Henry 
Loomis, McBride, and Henry Davis opposite Turner's lot, succeeded 
each other, while John Gordon and Brown located below Smith's on 
the same side. 

Bunce, whose house is still held together by the coherence of old 
carpentry, on "Old Road," became first a settler on the lot of Fen- 
ton's and Chubb afterwards succeeded him as possessor for a season 
of the coveted domain on No. 3. 

Of the residue of the settlers, temporary sojourners in that land of 
early promise, little is remembered. Where Grott and Burton 
"chopped" north of Beaver River, the most distant effort — "picket 
duty against the wilderness" — is pointed out ; while Fletcher's "chop- 
ping" is a known locality on this side that river, Peter Wakefield's 
family was among the last who "dug out" from No. 4, in 1847, to 
New Bremen. 

These settlers came in the palmy days when John Brown Francis 
figured as proprietor, and Charles Dayan, John Beach, and John B, 
Harrischoff were agents — for it required agents bustling with author- 
ity to manage such possessions in those days. 



APPENDICES 269 

Of the new residents who from time to time made investment in the 
locality, I am not informed. On the Champlain road, out from No. 
4, half a mile beyond Craft 's clearing, is the one hundred acres which 
was lost by George W. Bostwick on a bet with Hon. Charles Dayan 
against a new saddle, on the political result of Lewis County in the 
memorable contest of 1844. The vote of the county having been 
against the "great commoner," the lot was deeded in March, 1845. 

At Stillwater, eight miles from No. 4, is the grave of James O'Kane. 
The following appeared in the "Northern Journal," in January, 1858 : 

"Died, alone in his shanty, near the confluence of Twitchel Creek 
and Beaver River, (Still water) Herkimer County, N. Y., on the first 
day of January, 1858, from cancer of the stomach, James O'Kane, 
aged about 70 years. 

"Deceased has lived alone in his shanty, where his lifeless remains 
were found, for about twelve years. From his position on his couch 
by the fire, his head and shoulders being gently elevated and his hands 
quietly crossed upon his breast, his last hours and the departure of his 
spirit were in harmony with the solitude around his forest home. An 
abundance of flour, cheese, butter, bread, potatoes, etc., were found in 
his shanty. He was a fisherman, trapper, and hunter; said to be of 
fair education. A worn copy of the 'gospels' and a work on the 
'Piscatory Art' constituted his library. He owned several boats 
that plied, at the command of hunting and fishing parties, upon the 
lakes, sometimes as far up as Albany Lake. From parties he was 
generally the recipient of the leavings of 'provisions and potations' 
by which his larder was replenished. Many a sportsman will recall 
with delight his night spent beneath the protecting roof of 'Jimmy.' 

"On the 5th inst. a party, consisting of Elder Robinson, Ex-Sheriff 
Kirly, Joseph Garmon, William Glenn, E. Harvey, R. Kirly, F. Robin- 
son, and A. Wetmore, buried his remains on a bluff overlooking the 
river, near the well-known shanty, a spot selected and formerly 
pointed out by 'Jimmy' to Elder Robinson as the place of his repose. 
A rude wooden monument marks the head, and an oar the foot of his 
grave. He died alone. 

Found dead and alone! 

Nobody lienrd his last faint groan, 

Or knew when his sad heart ceased to beat. 

No mourner lingered with tears or sighs, 

But the stars looked down with pitying eyes, 

And the chill winds passed with a wailing sound, 

O'er the lonely spot where his form was found — 

Found dead and alone!" 



270 APPENDICES 

CHAPTER VIII 
SALE AND REMOVAL OF FENTON 

The period of selling out the old home, of removing from the wilder- 
ness world which he had presided over so many years, approached. 

The writer, while at Wetmore's, in August, 1862, was requested to 
act professionally by the proposed purchaser of Fenton's occupation 
and rights, in drafting the necessary papers to effectuate a sale. Be- 
ing the sole attorney in the vicinage, this rare and unexpected pro- 
fessional engagement induced a prompt attendance at Fenton's after 
dinner on the day following (Saturday). Fonton and the purchaser 
having concluded their long consultation, and the old gentleman hav- 
ing occasionally exchanged views with his "better half," still active 
in household duties though stooping with age; and John being called 
from the garden to concur in and approve the arrangements, the 
papers were in process of preparation for signature, when the original 
title deeds were deemed a proper muniment and guide on the occa- 
sion. 

The deed from Governor Francis and wife, produced after consid- 
erable delay, dated in 1826, was acknowledged before John Beach, 
Commissioner of Deeds, and was discolored with age. Having never 
been of record, it was brought to the clerk's office, where they are 
supposed to know the signature of commissioners who died about the 
time the clerk was born, and to record them as genuine! 

The reluctance of the proprietor to dispose of his old home and re- 
move from his haunts and fishing grounds was evident. It took an 
entire afternoon to "do the business," for which ample compensation 
was accorded by a ride with John, who was going out the day follow- 
ing to Lowville. Fitting regard for the feelings of attachment and 
regret which age cherished at such an hour, was had by the purchaser 
as one by one the different articles of husbandry were mentioned to 
be included in the sale — mentioned often with a sigh as again thought 
passed over the ancient woods home — by refraining to remind him of 
the boats and craft with which he had so many times pursued his course 
over the lakes and fishing grounds, and which it had been agreed upon 
should pass with the lands. By reason of such omission they were 
not mentioned in the written transfer to Louis B. Lewis, with posses- 
sion, which he assumed on January 1, 1863, of the well-known stand 
and farm of Fenton, No. 4. 

Fexton — who shall or can chronicle the experiences of his heart- 
life of forty years in the Wilderness? Tri the memory of how many 
a laborer and wanderer is his cheerful, tidy home treasured, and the 



APPENDICES 271 

kindly attentions of his forest home recalled with grateful recollec- 
tions! Amid such scenes of wild beauty the genius of Wordsworth 
was roused into active utterance of the melody of "a heart grown 
holier, as it traced the beauty of the world below." The silenc'e and 
solitude of the northern forest has had its charms for him. Who 
will say his heart's earlier aspirations have not been as effectually 
satisfied in the solitude of the uncultivated forest, as if he had moved 
amid the crowded haunts of the busy city? This sportsman by land 
and stream, this forest farmer, looks back upon woodland scene and 
experience with sighs. How true that while hope writes the poetry 
of the boy, memory writes that of the man ! 
Martinsburgh, Febniary 1863. 



APPENDIX C 

THE ADIRGNDACS^ 

A Journal 

By Ralph Waldo Emebson 

Dedicated to My Fellow Travelers in August, 1858 

Wise and polite, — and if I drew 
Their several portraits, you would own 
Chaucer had no such worthy crew, 
Nor Boccace in Decameron. 

We crossed Champlain to Keeseville with our friends, 

Thence, in strong country carts, rode up the forks 

Of the Ausable stream, intent to reach 

The Adirondac lakes. At Martin's beach 

We chose our boats ; each man a boat and guide, — 

Ten men, ten guides, our company all told. 

Next morn, we swept with oars the Saranae, 
With skies of benediction, to Round Lake, 
Where all the sacred mountains drew around us, 
Tahawus, Seaward, Maclntyre, Baldhead, 
And other titans without muse or name. 
Pleased with these grand companions, Ave glide on. 
Instead of flowers, crowned with a wreath of hills. 
Reprinted here by permission of Houghton, Mifflin Company. 



272 APPENDICES 

We made our distance wider, boat from, boat, 
As each would hear the oraele alone. 
By the bright morn the gaj' flotilla slid 
Through files of flags that gleamed like bayonets, 
Through gold-moth-haunted beds of pickerel-flower, 
Through scented banks of lilies white and gold, 
Where the deer feeds at night, the teal by day. 
On through the Upper Saranac, and up 
Fere Raquette stream, to a small tortuous pass 
Winding through grassy shallows in and out. 
Two creeping miles of rushes, pads and sponge, 
To Follansbee Water and the Lake of Loons. 

Northward the length of Follansbee we rowed, 
Under low mountains, whose unbroken ridge 
Ponderous with beechen forest sloped the shore. 
A pause and council ; then, where near the head 
Due east a bay makes inward to the land 
Between two rocky arms, we climb the bank, 
And in the twilight of the forest noon 
Wield the flrst axe these echoes ever heard. 
We cut young trees to make our poles and thwarts, 
Barked the white spruce to weatherfend the roof, 
Then struck a light and kindled the camp-fire. 
The wood was sovran with centennial trees, — 
Oak, cedar, maple, poplar, beech and fir, 
Linden and spruce. In strict society 
Three conifers, white, pitch and Norway pine. 
Five-leaved, three-leaved and two-leaved, grew thereby. 
Our patron pine was fifteen feet in girth. 
The maple eight, beneath its shapely tower, 

'Welcome!' the wood-god murmured through the leaves- 
* Welcome, though late, unknowing, yet known to me.' 
Evening drew on ; stars peeped through maple-boughs. 
Which o'erhung, like a cloud, our camping fire. 
Decayed millennial trunks, like moonlight flecks. 
Lit with phosphoric crumbs the forest floor. 

Ten scholars, wonted to lie warm and soft 
In well-hung chambers daintily' bestowed, 
Lie here on hemlock-boughs, like Sacs and Sioux, 



APPENDICES 273 

And greet unanimous the joyful change. 

So fast will Nature acclimate her sons, 

Though late returning to her pristine ways. 

Off soundings, seamen do not suffer cold; 

And, in the forest, delicate clerks, unbrowned, 

Sleep on the fragrant brush, as on down-beds. 

Up with the dawn, they fancied the light air 

That circled freshly in their forest dress 

Made them to boys again. Happier that they 

Slipped off their pack of duties, leagues behind, 

At the first mounting of the giant stairs. 

No placard on these rocks warned to the polls, 

No door-bell heralded a visitor. 

No courier waits, no letter came or went, 

Nothing was ploughed, or reaped, or bought, or sold ; 

The frost might glitter, it would blight no crop, 

The falling rain will spoil no holiday. 

We were made freemen of the forest laws. 

All dressed, like Nature, fit for her own ends, 

Essaying nothing she cannot perform. 

In Adirondac lakes, 
At mom or noon, the guide rows bareheaded : 
Shoes, flannel shirt, and kersey trousers make 
His brief toilette : at night, or in the rain. 
He dons a surcoat which he doffs at morn: 
A paddle in the right hand, or an oar. 
And in the left, a gun. his needful arms. 
By turns we praised the stature of our guides, 
Their rival strength and suppleness, their skill 
To row, to swim, to shoot, to build a camp. 
To climb a lofty stem, clean without boughs 
Full fifty feet, and bring the eaglet down : 
Temper to face wolf, bear, or catamount, 
And wit to trap or take him in his lair. 
Sound, ruddy men, frolic and innocent, 
In winter, lumberers ; in summer, guides ; 
Their sinewy arms pull at the oar untired 
Three times ten thousand strokes, from morn to eve. 

Look to yourselves, ye polished gentlemen ! 
No city airs or arts pass current here. 



274 APPENDICES 

Your rank is all reversed : let men of cloth 

Bow to the stalwart churls in overalls : 

They are the doctors of the wilderness, 

And we the low-prized laymen. 

In sooth, red flannel is a saucy test 

Which few can put on with impunity. 

What make you, master, fumbling at the oar? 

Will you catch crabs? Truth tries pretention here. 

The sallow knows the basket-maker's thumb; 

The oar, the guide's. Dare you accept the tasks 

He shall impose, to find a spring, trap foxes. 

Tell the sun's time, determine the true north. 

Or stumbling on through vast self -similar woods 

To thread by night the nearest way to camp ? 

Ask you, how went the hours? 
All day we swept the lake, searched everj' cove, 
North from Camp Maple, south to Osprej' Bay, 
Watching when the loud dogs should drive in deer, 
Or whipping its rough surface for a trout; 
Or, bathers, diving from the rock at noon ; 
Challenging Echo by our guns and cries ; 
Or listening to the laughter of the loon ; 
Or, in the evening twilight's latest red, 
Beholding the procession of the pines; 
Or, later yet, beneath a lighted jack. 
In the boat's bow, a silent night-hunter 
Stealing with paddle to the feeding-grounds 
Of the red deer, to aim at a square mist. 
Hark to that muffled roar ! a tree in the woods 
Is fallen : but hush ! it has not scared the buck 
Who s-tands astonished at the meteor light, 
Then turns to bound away, — is it too late ? 

Our heroes tried their rifles at a mark, 
Six rods, sixteen, twenty, or forty-five; 
Sometimes their wits at sally and retort. 
With laughter sudden as the crack of rifle ; 
Or parties scaled the near acclivities, 
Competing seekers of a rumored lake. 
Whose unauthenticated waves we named 



APPENDICES 275 

Lake Probability, — our carbuncle, 
Long sought, not found. 

Two Doctors in the camp 
Dissected the slain deer, weighed the trout's brain, 
Captured the lizard, salamander, shrew, 
Crab, mice, snail, dragon-fly, minnow and moth ; 
Insatiate skill in water or in air 
Waved the scoop-net, and nothing came amiss ; 
The while, one leaden pot of alcohol 
Gave an impartial tomb to all the kinds. 
Not less the ambitious botanist sought plants. 
Orchis and gentian, fern and long whip-scirpus, 
Rosy polysfonum, lake-margin's pride, 
Hypnum and hydnum, mushroom, sponge and 

moss. 
Or harebell nodding in the gorge of falls. 
Above, the eagle flew, the osprey screamed, 
The raven croaked, owls hooted, the woodpecker 
Loud hammered, and the heron rose in the swamp. 
As water poured through hollows of the hills 
To feed this wealth of lakes and rivulets, 
So Nature shed all beauty lavishly 
From her redundant horn. 

Lords of this realm, 
Bounded by dawn and sunset, and the day 
Rounded bj' hours where each outdid the last 
In miracles of pomp, we must be proud, 
As if associates of the sylvan gods. 
"We seemed the dwellers of the zodiac. 
So pure the Alpine element we breathed. 
So light, so lofty pictures came and went. 
We trod on air, condemned the distant town, 
Its timorous ways, big trifles, and we planned 
That we should build, hard-by, a spacious lodge 
And how we should come hither with our sons. 
Hereafter, — willing they, and more adroit. 

Hard fare, hard bed and comic misery — 
The midge, the blue-fly and the mosciuito 
Painted our necks, hands, ankles, with red bands : 



276 APPENDICES 

But, on the second day, we heed them not, 
Nay, we saluted them Auxiliaries, 
Whom earlier we had chid with spiteful names. 
For who defends our leafy tabernacle 
From bold intrusion of the traveling crowd, — 
"Who but the midge, mosquito and the fly, 
Which past endurance sting the tender cit. 
But which we learn to scatter with a smudge, 
Or baffle by a veil, or slight by scorn ? 

Our foaming ale we drank from hunter's pans, 
Ale, and a sup of wine. Our steward gave 
Venison and trout, potatoes, beans, wheat-bread; 
All ate like abbots, and, if any missed 
Their wanted convenance, cheerly hid the loss 
With hunter's appetite and peals of mirth. 
And Stillman, our guides' guide, and Commodore, 
Crusoe, Crusader, Pius ^neas, said aloud, 
"Chronic dj'spepsia never came from eating 
Food indigestible": — then murmured some. 
Others applauded him who spoke the truth. 

Nor doubt but visit ings of graver thought 
Checked in these souls the turbulent heyday 
'Mid all the hints and glories of the home. 
For who can tell what sudden privacies 
Were sought and found, amid the hue and cry 
Of scholars furloughod from their tasks and let 
Into this Oreads' fended Paradise, 
As chapels in the city's thoroughfares. 
Whither gaunt Labor slips to wipe his brow 
And meditate a moment on Heaven's rest. 
Judge with what sweet surprises Nature spoke 
To each apart, lifting her lovely shows 
To spiritual lessons pointed home, 
And as through dreams in watches of the night, 
So through all creatures in their form and ways 
Some mystic hint accosts the vigilant, 
Not clearly voiced, but waking a new sense 
Inviting to new knowledge, one with old. 
Hark to that petulant chirp ! what ails the warbler? 
Mark his capricious ways to draw the eye. 



J 



APPENDICES 277 

Now soar again. What wilt thou, restless bird, 
Seeking in that chaste blue a bluer light, 
Thirsting in that pure for a purer sky? 

And presently the sky is changed ; world ! 
What pictures and what harmonies are thine ! 
The clouds are rich and dark, the air serene, 
So like the soul of me, what if 't were me? 
A melancholy better than all mirth. 
Comes the sweet sadness at the retrospect, 
Or at the foresight of obscurer years ? 
Like yon slow-sailing cloudy promontory 
Whereon the purple iris dwells in beauty 
Superior to all its gaudy skirts. 
And, that no day of life may lack romance, 
The spiritual stars rise nightly, shedding down 
A private beam into each several heart. 
Daily the bending skies solicit man. 
The seasons chariot him from this exile. 
The rainbow hours bedeck his glowing chair, 
The storm-winds urge the heavy weeks along, 
Suns haste to set, that so remoter lights 
Beckon the wanderer to his vaster home. 

With a vermilion pencil mark the day 
When of our little fleet three cruising skiffs 
Entering Big Tupper, bound for the foaming Falls 
Of loud Bog River, suddenly confront 
Two of our mates returning with swift oars, 
One held a printed journal waving high. 
Caught from a late-arriving traveler, 
Big with great news, and shouting the report 
For which the world had waited, now firm fact. 
Of a wire-cable laid beneath the sea, 
And landed on our coast, and pulsating 
With ductile fire. Loud, exulting cries 
From boat to boat, and to the echoes round. 
Greet the glad miracle. Thought's new-found path 
Shall supplement henceforth all trodden ways, 
Match God's equator with a zone of art, 
And lift man's public action to a height 
Worthy the enormous cloud of witnesses, 



278 APPENDICES 

When linked hemispheres attest his deed. 

We have few moments in the longest life 

Of such delight and wonder as there grew, — 

Nor yet unsuited to that solitude : 

A burst of joy, as if we told the fact 

To ears intelligent; as if gray rock 

And cedar grove and cliff and lake should know 

This feat of wit, this triumph of mankind ; 

As if we men were talking in a vein 

Of sympathy so large, that ours was theirs. 

And a prime end of the most subtle element 

Were fairlj^ reached at last. Wake, echoing caves! 

Bend nearer, faint day-moon ! You thundertops, 

Let them hear well ! 't is theirs as much as ours. 

A spasm throbbing through the pedestals 
Of Alp and Andes, isle and continent, 
Urging astonished chaos with a thrill 
To be a brain, or serve the brain of man. 
The lightning has run masterless too long ; 
He must to school and learn his verb and noun 
And teach his nimbleness to earn his wage, 
Spelling with guided tongue man's messages 
Shot through the weltering pit of the salt sea. 
And yet I marked, even in the manly joy 
Of our great-hearted Doctor in his boat 
(Perchance I erred), a shade of discontent; 
Or was it for mankind a generous shame. 
As of a luck not quite legitimate, 
Since fortune snatched from wit the lion's part? 
Was it a college pique of town and gown, 
As one within whose memory it burned 
That not academicians, but some lout. 
Found ten years since the California gold? 
And now, again, a hungry company 
Of traders, led by corporate sons of trade. 
Perversely borrowing from the shop the tools 
Of science, not from the philosophers. 
Had won the brightest laurel of all time. 
'T was always thus, and will be ; hand and head 
Are ever rivals; but though this be swift, 
The other slow — this the Prometheus, 



APPENDICES 279 

And that the Jove, — yet howsoever hid, 

It was from Jove the other stole his fire, 

And, without Jove, the good had never been. 

It is not Iroquois or cannibals, 

But ever the free race with front sublime, 

And these instructed by the wisest too. 

Who do the feat, and lift humanity. 

Let not him mourn who best entitled was. 

Nay, mourn not one : let him exult. 

Yea, plant the tree that bears best apples, plant, 

And water it with wine, nor watch askance 

Whether thy sons or strangers eat the fruit : 

Enough that mankind eat and are refreshed. 

We flee away from cities, but we bring 
The best of cities with us, these learned classifiers, 
Men knowing what they seek, armed eyes of experts. 
We praise the guide, we praise the forest life: 
But will we sacrifice our dear-bought lore 
Of books and arts and trained experiment, 
Or count the Sioux a match for Agassiz? 
no, not we ! W^itness the shout that shook 
Wild Tupper Lake ; witness the mute all-hail 
The joyful traveller gives, when on the verge 
Of craggy Indian wilderness he hears 
From a log cabin stream Beethoven's notes 
On the piano, played with master's hand. 
'Well done!' he cries; 'the bear is kept at bay, 
The lynx, the rattlesnake, the flood, the fire; 
All the fierce enemies, ague, hunger, cold. 
This thin spruce roof, this clayed log-wall. 
This wild plantation will suffice to chase. 
Now speed the gay celerities of art, 
What in the desert was impossible 
Within four w^alls is possible again, — 
Culture and libraries, mysteries of skill, 
Traditioned fame of masters, eager strife 
Of keen competing youths, joined or alone 
To outdo each other and extort applause. 
Mind wakes a new-born giant from her sleep. 
Twirl the old wheels ! Time takes fresh start again, 
On for a thousand years of genius more.' 



280 APPENDICES 

The holidays were fruitful, but must end; 
One August evening had a cooler breath ; 
Into each mind intruding duties crept; 
Under the cinders burned the tires of home; 
Nay, letters found us in our paradise: 
So in the gladness of the new event 
We struck our camp and left the happy hills. 
The fortunate star that rose on us sank not; 
The prodigal sunshine rested on the land, 
The rivers gambolled onward to the sea, 
And Nature, the inscrutable and mute. 
Permitted on her infinite repose 
Almost a smile to steal to cheer her sons, 
As if one riddle of the Sphinx were guessed.^ 



APPENDIX D 

EDITORIAL FROM "NEW YORK TIMES" 

The following Editorial article from the "New York Times" of August 9th, 
1864, about the time of the commencement of the Adirondack Company's Rail- 
KOAn, represents the character of the so-called Wilderness from a different point 
of view, and may be of interest to such as have not been familiar with its remark- 
able features: — 

ADIRONDACK 

Not the least important of the advantages offered for residence by 
our Atlantic cities, is their proximity to the most charming natural 
retreats, to which we can easily escape during the intervals of business, 
and where we can replenish our fountains of vitality, exhausted by the 
feverish drain of over-effort. Ranges of mountains hover jealously 
near our coasts, and give prolific birth to a family of the loveliest 
streams and lakes. Notwithstanding the enormous physical propor- 
tions of our continent, its infinite variety is equal to its extent ; and 

1 Those who wish a running commentary on the poem, pointing out little dis- 
crepancies of detail, but enlarging fondly on its Greek-like beauty of conception 
and execution, will find it in the essay on "The Philosophers' Camp," in Still- 
man's The Old Rome and Xetc. See Chap. XVJ. 

A late aftermath of "Camp Maple" came in the publication, in 1913, of volume 
IX of Emerson's Journals. It contains a few jottings made at "FoUansbee'a 
Pond," but nothing that adds to the knowledge we have. There are notes of the 
trees and the fish and the charm of the place — of tree-climbing, by Lowell, after 
an osprey — of a trip down the Raquette to Big Tupper — and that is all. 



APPENDICES 281 

the universal presence of the railway makes it easy in a few hours 
to relieve any tedium of sameness in any section, by flight to another 
of totally different character and aspect. 

Especially is this practicable in New York. Within an easy day's 
ride of our great city, as steam teaches us to measure distance, is a 
tract of country fitted to make a Central Park for the world. The 
jaded merchant, or financier, or literateur, or politician, feeling ex- 
cited within him again the old passion for nature (which is never 
permitted entirely to die out), and longing for the inspiration of 
physical exercise, and pure air, and grand scenery, has only to take an 
early morning train, in order, if he chooses, to sleep the same night 
in the shadow of kingly hills, and waken with his memory filled with 
pleasant dreams, woven from the ceaseless music of mountain streams. 

To people in general, Adirt)ndack is still a realm of mystery. Al- 
though the waters of the Hudson, which to-day mingle with those of 
the ocean in our harbor, yesterday rippled over its rocks, and though 
on all sides of it have grown up villages, and have been created busy 
thoroughfares, yet so little has this "wonderful wilderness" been pene- 
trated by enterprise or art, that our community is practically ignorant 
of its enormous capacities, both for the imparting of pleasure and 
the increase of wealth. 

It is true that the desultory notes of a few summer tourists have 
given us a vague idea of its character. We know it as a region of 
hills and valleys and lakes; we believe it to abound in rocks and 
riMilets, and have an ill-defined notion that it contains mines of iron. 
But as yet, we have never been able to understand that it embraces 
a variety of mountain scenery, unsurpassed, if even equaled, by any 
region of similar size in the world ; that its lakes count by hundreds, 
fed by cool springs, and connected mainly by watery threads, which 
make them a network such as Switzerland might strive in vain to 
match ; and that it affords facilities for hunting and fishing, which our 
democratic sovereign-citizen could not afford to exchange for the pre- 
serves of the mightiest crowned monarch of Christendom. And still 
less do we understand that it abounds in mines which the famous iron 
mountains of Missouri cannot themselves equal for quality and ease 
of working; and that its resources of timber and lumber are so great, 
that, once made easily accessible, their supply would regulate the 
prices of those articles in our market. 

And this access is what we are now going to secure. The gay 
denizens of Saratoga, this season, are excited by an occasional glimpse 
of a railroad grade running north from that town toward the Upper 
Hudson, and aiming directly at the heart of the Wilderness. A thou- 



282 APPENDICES 

sand men are now cutting down and filling up and blasting and 
bridging **on this line;" and before Winter, twenty to thirty miles 
of the distance will daily be measured by the locomotive. The Adi- 
rondack Company, improving one of the privileges of their charter, 
and in order to develop the wealth of their enormous possessions in 
that region, are building a railway, the first object of which is to 
reach their mines and forests, and its ultimate one, to strike the St. 
Lawrence with its branches at different points, so as to draw into 
its channel the bulk of the travel and transportation between our 
seaboard and Central Canada. The fact that this work is prosecuted 
under the direct supervision of Thomas C. Durant, Esq., one of the 
principal stockholders of the Company, and one of the ablest railway 
men of the country, is a sufficient guarantee for its rapid progress; 
and with its completion, the Adirondack region will become a suburb 
of New York. The furnaces of our capitalists will line its valleys and 
create new fortunes to swell the aggregate of our wealth, while the 
hunting-lodges of our citizens will adorn its more remote mountain 
sides and the wooded islands of its delightful lakes. It will become, 
to our whole community, on an ample scale, what Central Park is on 
a limited one. We shall sleep tonight on one of the magnificent 
steamers of the People's Line, ride a few cool hours in the morning by 
rail, and, if we choose, spend the afternoon in a solitude almost as 
complete as when the "Deerslaj^er" stalked his game in its fastnesses, 
and unconsciously founded a school of romance equally true to senti- 
ment with that of feudal ages. 

And here we venture a suggestion to those of our citizens who desire 
to advance civilization by combining taste with luxury in their ex- 
penditures. Imitating the good example of one of their number, who, 
upon the eastern slopes of Orange ]\Iountain has created a paradise, 
of which it is difficult to say whether its homes or its pleasure-grounds 
are more admirable, let them form combinations, and, seizing upon 
the choicest of the Adirondack Mountains, before they are despoiled 
of their forests, make of them grand parks, owned in common, and 
thinly dotted with hunting seats, where, at little cost, they can enjoy 
equal amplitude and privacy of sporting, riding and driving, when- 
ever they are able, for a few days or weeks, to seek the country in pur- 
suit of health or pleasure. In spite of all the din and dust of fur- 
naces and foundries, the Adirondacks, thus husbanded, will furnish 
abundant seclusion for all time to come: and will admirably realize the 
true union which should always exist between utility and enjoyment.^ 

1 The above editorial is reprinted from an old advertising pamphlet issued at the 
time of the building of the Adirondack Railroad. 



APPENDICES 283 

APPENDIX E 
LIST OF HIGHEST ADIRONDACK PEAKS 

1- ^^a^^y ' 5,344 feet 

2. Mclntyre 5 2oi feet 

3. Haystack 4 918 feet 

4- Dix 4 9X6 fget 

5- Basin 4 905 feet 

6. Gray Peak 4 902 feet 

7. Skylight 4^889 feet 

8. Whitefaee 437I feet 

9. Golden 4,753 feet 

10. Gothic 4J44 feet 

11. RedHeld 4,688 feet 

12. Nipple Top 4,684 feet 

13. Santanoni 4,644 feet 

14. Saddle Back 4,536 feet 

15. Giant 4,530 feet 

16. Seward 4,384 feet 

17. IMaeomb 4,371 feet 

18. Ragged 4,163 feet 

19. Mt. Colviu or Sabelle 4,142 feet 



APPENDIX F 

HEIGHTS OF THE LESSER ADIRONDACK PEAKS 
(Alphabetically Arranged) 

Name County Feet 

Ampersand Franklin 3,432 

Baldface Hamilton 3,903 

Bartlett Essex 3,715 

Blue Mountain Hamilton 3,762 

Boot Bay Franklin 2,531 

Boreas Essex 3,726 

Burnt Mountain Hamilton 2,121 

iMt. Marcy is the highest mountain in the State. All of the above peaks, 
with one exception, lie in the central ].art of Essev County. The exception is Mt. 
Seward, lying in the southeastern part of Franklin County. 



284 APPENDICES 

Name County Feet 

Camel's Hump Essex 3,548 

DeBar Franklin 3,011 

Devil's Ear Hamilton 3,903 

Hoffman Essex 3,727 

Holmes' Hill Hamilton 2,121 

Hopkins ' Peak Essex 3,136 

Hurricane Essex 3,763 

Indian Face ( Ausable Pond) . . Essex 2,536 

Indian Pass (Top of Wallfaee 

precipice) Essex 3,870 

Jerseyfield Herkimer 3,323 

Long Pond Mountain Hamilton 2,268 

McKenzie Essex 3,789 

Mt. Andrew Essex 3,216 

Noon Mark Essex 3,558 

Owl's Head Hamilton 2,825 

Panther Gorge Essex 3,353 

Poke-A-Moonshine Essex 2,171 

Seymour Franklin 3,928 

Snowy Mountain Hamilton 3,903 

Speculator Hamilton 3,041 

St. Regis Franklin 2,888 

WaUface . , Essex 3,893 



APPENDIX G 

TREES OF THE ADIRONDACKS ^ 

There is little or no peculiarity in the dendrological features of the 
Great Forest, the species and varieties of trees being the common ones 
which may be seen in all parts of the State. By far the greater part 
of the forest is of deciduous growth, about twenty per cent only of the 
trees being conifers. Of the deciduous trees the most common species 
are the maple, birch, and beech, with their varieties. Next, and in 
order of quantity, come the poplar, ash, eherrj'-, ironwood, basswood, 
willow, elm, red oak, butternut, sycamore, and chestnut. The smaller 
species of trees or shrubs are represented by the mountain ash, alder, 
mountain maple (Acer spieatum), striped dogwood (Acer Pennsyl- 
vanicum), shad-bush, sumach, elder, and "witch-hopple" (Viburnum 

1 From Forest Commission Report 1893, vol. 1. 



APPENDICES 285 

lantanoides). The chestnut is very rare throughout the Adirondack 
Plateau; although growing close to the foot hills, it disappears on the 
higher altitudes of the Great Forest. For the same reason the oaks 
are rare and stunted. 

Among the conifers are found the spruce, hemlock, balsam, tama- 
rack, and white cedar. Some white pine of original growth remains, 
but this noble tree, which once grew thickly throughout the whole 
legion, is now limited to a few small patches of inferior quality. 

LIST OF TREES 

Basswood or Linden Tilia Americana 

Sugar Maple or Hard Maple Acer saccharinum 

Black Sugar Maple Acer nigrum ( Var.) 

Soft or Red Maple Acer rubrum 

White or Silver Maple Acer dasycarpum 

Ash-leaved Maple or Box Elder Negundo aceroides 

Black or Wild Cherry Prunus serotina 

White Ash Fraxinus Americana 

Black Ash Fraxinus sambucifolia 

White or American Elm Ulmus Americana 

Black or Yellow-bark Oak Quercus tinctoria 

Red Oak Quercus rubra 

Red Beech Fagus ferruginea 

Ironwood or Hop Hornbeam Ostrya Virginica 

Sweet or Black Birch Betula lenta 

Yellow or Gray Birch Betula lutea 

White Birch Betula populifolia 

Canoe or Paper Birch Betula papyracea 

Yellow Willow Salix vitellina (Var.) 

Black W'illow Salix nigra 

Quaking Aspen or Small Poplar Populus tremuloides 

American Aspen or Poplar Populus grandidentata 

Cottonwood or Necklace Poplar Populus monilifera 

Balsam Poplar or Tacamahac Populus balsamifera 

Balm of Gilead Populus candicans (Var.) 

SMALL TREES 

Stag-horn Sumach Rhus typhina 

Wild Red or Pin Cherry Prunus Penusylvanica 

Black Thorn Crataegus punctata 

Mountain Ash Pyrus Americana 

Flowering Dog^vood Cornus florida 

CONIFERS 

White Pine Pinus Strobus 

Pitch Pine Pinus rigida 

Yellow Pine Pinus mitis 

Scrub Pine Pinus Banksiana 



286, APPENDICES 

Red or Norway Pine Pinus resinosa 

Black Spruce Abies nigra 

White Spruce Abiea alba 

Balsam Abies balsamea 

Hemlock Tsuga Canadensis 

Tamarack or Hackmatack or Larch. . . . Larix Americana 

Arbor Vitae Thuja occidentalis 

Red Cedar .... Juniperus Virginiana 



APPENDIX H 

A LIST OF ADlPvONDACK MAMMALS 
Taken from "Mammals of the Adirondacks" by Clinton Hart Merriam 

1 Panther Felis concolor 

2 Lynx Lynx Canadensis 

3 Bay Lynx Lynx Rufus 

4 Wolf Canis lupus 

5 Fox Vulpes vulgaris Pennsylvanicus 

6 Wolverine Gulo luscus 

7 Fisher Mustela Pennanti 

8 Marten Mustela Americana 

9 Least Weasel Putoris erminea 

10 Mink Putoris vison 

1 1 Skunk Mephitis mephitica 

12 Otter Lutra Canadensis 

1 3 Raccoon Proycon Lutor 

14 Black Bear Ursus Americanus 

15 Harbor Seal Phoca vitulina 

16 Virginia Deer Cariacus Virginianus 

17 Moose Alee Americanus 

18 Elk or Wapiti Cervus Canadensis 

10 Fossil Horse Equus major 

20 Fossil Elephant Elephas Americanus 

21 Star-nosed Mole Condylura cristata 

22 Shrew Mole Scalops aquaticus 

23 Brewer's Mole Scapanus Americanus 

24 Short-tailed Shrew Blarina brevicauda 

2."> Cooper's Shrew Sorex Cooperi 

2G Broad-nosed Shrew Sorex platyrhinus 

27 Hoary Bat Atalapha cinerea 

28 Red Bat Atalapha Noveboracensis 

29 Dusky Bat Vesperugo serotinus fuscus 

30 Silver-haired Bat Vesperugo noctivagans 

31 Little Brown Bat Vespertilio subulatus 

32 Flying Sqirirrel Sciuropterus volucella 

33 Xorthern Flying Squirrel Sciuropterus volucella HudsoniuB 

34 Red Squirrel Sciurus Hudsonius 



APPENDICES 287 

35 Gray Squirrel Sciurus Carolinensis lelicotis 

36 Fox Squirrel Sciurua iiiger cinereus 

37 Ground Squirrel Tamias striatus 

38 VVoodchuck Arctomys monax 

39 American Beaver Castor fiber Canadensis 

40 Rat Mus decumanus , 

41 House Mouse Mus musculus 

42 White-footed Mouse Hosperonys leucopus 

43 Red-backed Mouse Evotomys rutilus Gapperi 

44 Meaxiow Mouse Arvicola riparius 

45 Muskrat Fiber zibethicus 

46 Jumping Mouse Zapus Hudsonius 

47 Canada Porcupine Erethizon dorsatus 

48 Great Northern Hare Lepus Americanus 

49 Southern Varying Hare Lepus Americanus Virgianu* 

50 Gray Rabbit Lepus sylvaticua 



APPENDIX I 

WEATHER DATA— LAKE PLACID CLUB— 

1909-1919 

(Compiled by Henry Van Hoevenberg and T. Morris Longstreth) 



Year Month 


Mean 


Maximum 


Minimum 


Precipitation 


Snowfall 


1909 January 


16.3 


46 


—26 


5.95 


28 inches 


February 


16.7 


46 


—20 


2.19 


16 


March 


21.11 


50 


—12 


4.85 


43 


April 


35.5 


60 


6 


5.49 


16 


May 


48.5 


72 


27 


4.74 


4 


June 


51.4 


76 


30 


3.25 




July 


59.30 


81 


39 


5.20 




August 


59.19 


84 


30 


2.67 




September 52.81 


85 


29 


1.92 




October 


37.77 


76 


15 


2.53 


1 


November 33.83 


60 


6 


1.65 


10 


December 


15.98 


36 


—16 


3.67 


9 


1910 January 


18.5 


44 


—22 


4.42 


36 


February 


11.2 


41 


—26 


6.57 


51 


March 


32.8 


65 


1 


3.46 


5 


April 


41.79 


69 


13 


2.63 


11 


May 


47.40 


71 


21 


4.47 


5 



128 



288 




APPENDICES 






Year 


Month Mean 


Maximum 


Minimum 


Precipitation 


Snowfall 


1910 


June 55.5 


79 


26 


3.17 






July 63.62 


88 


39 


2.78 






August 57.22 


76 


34 


4.65 






September 52.26 


74 


28 


2.78 






October 42.99 


73 


15 


3.34 


13 




November 26.38 


49 


3 


4.91 


40 




December 10.1 


32 


—18 


4.44 


36 


1911 


January 14.35 


46 


—20 


5.54 


30 




February 10.65 


50 


—24 


5.09 


38 




March 18.70 


52 


—23 


4.61 


35 




April 31.52 


70 


—10 


1.95 


7 




May 53.40 


86 


20 


3.19 


9 




208 




June 55.29 


84 


34 


3.87 






July 66.10 


92 


42 


3.01 






August 62.25 


89 


36 


3.04 






September 51.81 


73 


23 


2.29 


1 




October 43.83 


64 


15 


3.44 


12 




November 26.20 


57 


— 2 


3.59 


31 




December 23.87 


53 


— 6 


3.12 


17 


1912 


January 6.58 


37 


—33 


3.70 


40 




February 10.62 


40 


—33 


2.85 


30 




March 19.65 


55 


—22 


2.42 


14 




April 33.91 


68 


6 


3.33 


28 




May 45.96 


79 


23 


6.82 


3 




176 




June 51.5 


78 


26 


1.39 






July 59.74 


88 


32 


6.10 






August 51.4 


76 


30 


4.19 






September 50. 


76 


26 


6.01 


1 




October 42.3 


68 


21 


2.59 


1 




November 30.2 


55 


— 1 


4.83 


19 




December 21.4 


51 


—10 


4.02 


30 


1913 


January 21,3 


46 


—11 


7.36 


21 




February 8.2 


52 


—22 


2.27 


20 




March 27. 


58 


-16 


7.90 


13 



APPENDICES 



289 



Vear Month 

1913 April 
]\lay 



1914 



1915 



Mean 
36.6 
44.7 



Maximum 
78 
78 



June 58.8 

July 62.9 

August 61.5 
September 57.4 
October 45,8 
November 29.5 
December 14. 



Minimum Precipitation 
10 4.46 

20 1.85 



85 
84 
82 
84 
70 
60 
41 



37 
42 
31 
29 
20 
6 
—20 



4.08 
7.09 
3.64 
1.81 
2.23 
3.83 
6.40 



Snowfall 
18 
1 











124 


June 53.7 


82 


27 


2.22 




July 57.5 


88 


33 


3.75 




August 56.4 


80 


34 


1.57 




September 49. 


82 


20 


2.69 




October 43.1 


75 


14 


4.88 


10 


November 31.7 


60 


10 


4.08 


13 


December 20.6 


41 


— 9 


3.98 


32 


January 11.1 


43 


—37 


3.50 


27 


February 6.3 


41 


—36 


1.91 


19 


March 23.4 


55 


—19 


4.28 


37 


April 29.4 


68 


— 1 


5.14 


23 


May 48.8 


79 


22 


.86 





June 52.8 


78 


29 


2.81 


i 




161J 


July 58.4 


83 


31 


3.60 




August 58.4 


85 


31 


4.10 




September 51. 


80 


18 


2.40 




October 45.1 


74 


12 


1.15 


8 


November 25.5 


55 


— 7 


3.94 


32 


December 13.6 


49 


—33 


3.80 


30 


January 14.2 


41 


—32 


3.88 


23 


February 16.7 


45 


—12 


4.63 


37 


March 15.4 


38 


—13 


2.48 


26 


April 35. 


70 


3 


3.18 


3 


May 43.4 


73 


26 


2.05 


i 



159^ 



1 
T 
15 
60 



290 


APPENDICES 






Year Month Mean 


Maximum 


Minimum 


Precipitation 


Snowfall 


1916 January 17.2 


51 


—19 


4.22 


31 


February 6.8 


36 


—32 


3.19 


29 


March 15. 


63 


—22 


2.68 


30 


April 40.3 


66 


18 


2.10 


6 


May 49.4 


77 


26 


4.13 


172^ 


June 56.9 


79 


32 


3.00 




July 67.6 


89 


40 


6.89 




August 64.8 


89 


38 


2.48 




September 54.7 


80 


30 


3.22 


i 


October 43. 


70 


20 


2.01 


1 


November 29.1 


62 


— 4 


3.01 


12 


December 16.6 


46 


—26 


3.45 


36 


1917 January 12.0 


38 


-^2 


5.63 


49 


February 8.4 


40 


—30 


3.49 


32 


March 23.2 


53 


—10 


4.94 


51 


April 34.2 


65 


8 


4.39 


22 


May 39.0 


76 


26 


4.13 


16 

219^ 


June 55. 


81 


30 


2.88 




July 61.4 


83 


42 


.65 




August 63.1 


75 


42 


2.15 




September 52.2 


66 


26 


3.99 




October 42.8 


60 


19 


4.54 


2 


November 24.4 


48 


— 7 


.67 


8 


December 12.2 


40 


—39 


1.61 


19 


1918 January 5.0 


40 


—30 


2.69 


30 


February 11.1 


53 


—32 


2.73 


10 


March ' 24.9 


65 


—15 


1.2 


17 


April 37.3 


74 


11 


1.28 


18 




104 


May 56.8 


87 


22 


2.60 




June 54.4 


84 


25 


2.40 




July 62.5 


90 


36 


5.03 




August 60.1 


91 


29 


5.92 




September 49.5 


77 


24 


4.85 


T 


October 45.1 


71 


20 


6.87 


i 







APPENDICES 




291 


Year 


Month Mean 


Maximum 


Minimum 


Precipitation 


Snowfall 


1918 


November 35.4 


64 


4 


2.53 


6 




December 22.4 


55 


— 6 


1.91 


14 


1919 


January 20.4 


51 


—20 


1.22 


15 




February 18. 


48 


—13 


2.24 


19 




March 28. 


65 


-10 


4.05 


41 




April 36.2 


65 


5 


2.40 


2 




97i 




May 51.5 


79 


22 


4.08 






June no records 










July no records 










August no records 










September 55.8 


77 


25 


2.64 






October 46.1 


75 


20 


4.02 






November 30.3 


58 


6 


1.29 


16 




December .... 


45 


—26 




20 


1920 


January 4. 


38 


—31 


1.68 


27 




February 12.5 


45 


—27 


2.45 


27 




i\Iarch 13.4 


45 


—27 


2.76 


28 




April 33.2 


61 


9 


4.04 


11 




129 






APPENDIX J 







LIST OF ADIRONDACK BIRDS 



Compiled by Robert H. Coleman 



At the request of the author, Mr. Robert H. Coleman, of Saranac 
Lake, has kindly taken the time and trouble to prepare the following 
list of Adirondack birds. It includes only those commonly and readily 
found in the mountains proper, and does not cover the foothills lead- 
ing to them. The record is made up from Mr. Coleman's personal 
observations and records during a residence of twenty-five years in 
the region. Works on ornithology have been consulted of course, and 
especially Dr. C. Hart Merriam's "Preliminary List of Birds Ascer- 
tained to Occur in the Adirondack Region, Northeastern New York." 

Mr. Coleman's list does not pretend to be complete, but merely to 
supply the names of birds easily found and recognized. Accidental 



292 APPENDICES 

and occasional visitors to this region are not included, nor those birds 
which are too rare to be easily discovered. The nomenclature followed 
is that adopted by "Sir. Robert Ridgway and by Baird, Brewer & Ridg- 
way in their "Birds of North America." 

BIRDS OF THE ADIRONDACKS, COMMONLY AND 
READILY FOUND 

SUMMER RESIDENTS 
Wood Warblers 

1. ]\Iyrtle warbler Dendroica coronata 

2. ]\Iagnolia warbler Dendroica maculosa 

3. Chestnut-sided warbler Dendroica pennsylvanica 

4. Black-throated green warbler Dendroica virens 

5. Summer yellow-bird warbler Dendroica astiva 

6. Blackburnian warbler Dendroica hlackhurnice 

7. Palm or Redpoll warbler Dendroica palmariim 

8. Black-throated blue warbler Dendroica ccsrulescens 

9. Black-Poll warbler Dendroica striata 

10. Nashville warbler Ilelminthrophaga ruficapilla 

11. Orange-crowned warbler (Oven) . .Seiurus aurocapillus 

12. Parula warbler Perula americana 

13. Cape May warbler Peri^soglossa tagrina 

14. Black-and-white creeping warbler. il/niof/Z^a vana 

15. Redstart warbler Satophaga ruticilla 

16. Maiyland yellow-throat warbler. . . Oeothlyhis trichas 

17. Black-capped Titmouse wsiThler. . .Pariisatricapillus 

18. Water Thrush warbler Seius Novehoracensis 

19. Pine warbler Chrysomitris pinus 

20. Tennessee warbler Ilelminthrophaga peregrina 

21. Bay-breasted warbler Dendroica castanea. 

22. Canadian warbler Myiodioctes canadensis 

23. Mourning warbler Gcothlypis Philadelphia 

24. Cerulean warbler Dendroica ccrrulea 

25. Blue-winged yellow warbler Flelminthophaga pinus 

26. Yellow-breasted Chat Icteria virens 

ViREOS 

1, Red-eyed vireo Vireosylvia olivacens 

2, White-eyed vireo Vireo novchoracencis 

3, Blue-headed vireo Lanivireo solitarius 

4, Warbling vireo Vireosylvia gilva 

5, Yellow-throated vireo Lanivireo flavifrons 






APPENDICES 293 

Thrushes 

1. Robin Turdus migraiorius 

2. Catbird, rare Galeoscoptes caroUnensis 

3. Brown thrush, rare Harporhynchus rufus 

4. Wilson 's thrush Turdus fusccscehs 

5. Water thrush Turdus novcboracensis 

6. Wood thrush Turdus mustelinus 

7. Hermit thrush Turdus solitarius 

8. Golden-crowned thrush Seiurus aurocapillus 

9. Olive-backed thrush EylocicJda ustulata swainsoni 

Woodpeckers 

1. Pileated woodpecker Bylotomus pileatus 

2. Yellom hammer woodpecker Colaptes auratus 

3. Yellow-bellied woodpecker .Sphyrapicus varius 

4. Hairy woodpecker Picus villosus 

5. Downy woodpecker Picus puhescens 

6. Arctic three-toed woodpecker Picoidcs arcticus 

7. Red-cockaded woodpecker Pmis horcalis 

8. White-bellied nuthatch Sitta caroUnensis 

9. Brown-bellied nuthatch Sitta canadensis 

10. Brown creeper Certhia familiaris rufa 

Miscellaneous 

1. Crow Corvus americanus 

2. Raven Corvus corax carnivorus 

3. Blue jay Cyanocitta cristata 

4. Canada jay Perisoreus canadensis 

5. Grackle Quiscahis purpureus 

6. Loggerhead shrike CoUuria horcalis 

7. Night hawk Chordeiks popcUie 

8. Whippoorwill A^itrostomus vociferus 

9. Black-bill coocoo Coccyzus erythrophthalmus 

10. Red-shouldered black B Agelacus phoeniceus 

11. Cow bunting Molothrus ater 

12. Partridge Bonasa umbellus 

13. Rusty blackbird Scholecophagus ferrugineus 

14. Canada grouse Canace canadensis 

15. Hummingbird (Red throat) Trochilus coluhris 

16. Cedar bird Ampelis Cedrorum 

17. Scarlet tanager Pyranga rubra 

18. Shore lark Eremosphila alpestris 

19. Baltimore oriole Pinicola enucleator 



294 APPENDICES 

20. Blue bird Sialia sialis 

21. Pine grosbeak Hedymeles Ivdovicianus 

Finches 

1. Song sparrow Melospiza melodia 

2. English house sparrow Pyrgita domestica 

3. Chipping sparrow Spizella socialis 

4. Field sparrow Spizella spusilla 

5. Vesper sparrow Poocetes graniineus 

6. Swamp sparrow Melospiza palustris 

7. White-throated sparrow Zonotrichia ahicollis 

8. Pine finch or siskin Fragilla pinus 

9. Gold finch Chrysonietris tristis 

10. Purple finch Carpodacus purpureus 

11. Indigo bird Cyanospiza cyanea 

12. Red wing cross bill Loxia curvirostra 

13. White wing cross bill Loxia leucoptera 

14. Snow bird or junco J unco hyemalis 

15. Chewink Pipilo erytkrophthalmus 

16. Grass finch Pooecctes gramineus 

17. Lincoln's finch Melospiza lincolni 

Flycatchers 

1. Olive-sided flj^catcher Contopus horealis 

2. Great-crested flycatcher Myiarchus crinitus 

3. Tyrant flycatcher Tyrannus carolinensis 

4. Least flycatcher Empidonax minimus 

5. Yellow-bellied flj'catcher Empidonax flaviventris 

6. Common peewee flycatcher Sayornis fuscus 

7. Wood peewee flycatcher Contopus virens 

Wrens 

1, House wren Troglodytes aedon 

2, Winter wren Troglodytes parvalus 

3, Golden-crowned kinglet Regulus satrapa 

4, Ruby-crowned kinglet Regulus calendura 

5, Black-capped chickadee Parus atricapillus 

Swallows 

1, Chimney swallow Chaetura Pelagica 

2, Barn swallow Ilirundo korreorum 

3. Bank swallow Cotyle riparia 

4. White-bellied swallow Hirundo hicolor 



APPENDICES 295 

5. Purple martin Progne siihis 

6. Cliff swallow Petmchelidon lunifrons 

Water Birds — MiscELLiVNEous 

1. Great blue heron Ardea herodias 

2. Belted kingfisher Ceryle alcion 

3. Green heron Butoridcs virescens 

4. Small white gull — herring gull . . . Larus argentatus 

5. Woodcock Philohela minor 

6. Sand piper, spotted Tringoides macularius 

7. Yellow leg snipe Totanus flavipes 

8. Bittern Botaurus lentiginosus 

9. Killdeer plover Oxyechus vociferus 

10, Sora rail Porzana Carolina 

Water Birds — Ducks 

1. Loon, rare Urinator immer 

2. Blue winged teal, rare Querquedula discors 

3. Green winged teal, rare Nettion carolinensis 

4. Wood duck Aix sponsa 

5. Red head duck Athyia omericana 

6. Golden eyed duck Clangula glaucion 

7. Butter ball Clangula albeola 

8. Black mallard AnOrS ohscura 

9. Saw bill, migrations Merges serrator 

10. Coot, rare Fulica americana 

11. Small diver Podilymhus podiceps 

12. Wooded merganser Lophodijtes cucullatus 

13. Sheldrake Mergus merganser 

Hawks, Falcons, Eagles 

1. Bald headed eagle, rare Faico leucocepTialus 

2. Golden eagle, rare Aquila chrysaetus 

3. March hawk Circus Cijanesis 

4. Goshawk Astur palumharius 

5. American osprey Pandeum halimtus 

6. Red tailed hawk Buteo borealis 

7. Red shouldered hawk Buteo lineatus 

8. Sparrow hawk Falco sparverius 

9. Sharp shinned hawk Falco velox 

10. Fish hawk Pandion halioEius carolinensis 

11. Cooper's hawk Accipiter fuscus 

12. Broad winged hawk Buteo pennsylvanicus 



296 APPENDICES 

Owls 

1. White owl, rare Strix vyctea 

2. Great horned owl Buvo virginianus 

3. Barred owl Strix nehulosa 

4. Great grey owl, rare Syrium cinereum 

5. Long eared owl Otus vulgaris 

6. Hawk owl Surnia ulula hvdsonia 

7. Saw whet owl Nyctale acadica 

8. Sparrow owl Falco apaverius 

9. Little owl, screech owl Scops asio 

Well known Winter visitors, not with us in summer 

1. Snow bunting Plecthrophanes nivalis 

2. Red breasted grosbeak Hedymeles ludovicianus 

3. Evening grosbeak Ilesperipho'na vespertina 



APPENDIX K 

SOME "FIRSTS" 
THE FIRST ELECTRIC LIGHTS 

The first electric lights in the mountains were put into the Prospect 
House on Blue Mountain Lake, when it was built in 1881. See Chap- 
ter XXXVI. 

THE FIRST AUTOMOBILE 

The first automobile came into these woods in July, 1902. It be- 
longed to Mr. and Mrs. Herbert J. Sackett, of Buffalo, who were 
taking their honeymoon trip in this decidedly novel manner. They 
spent a night at the Ampersand Hotel on Lower Saranac Lake, 
and the following morning drove to Paul Smith's, where the aged 
pioneer of the ox-mobile greeted the youthful pioneers of the horse- 
less carriage. Their passage was long remembered. In Saranac Lake 
village and along the highway the puflSng and pounding motor spread 
terror before it and left wreckage and anathema behind it. In spite 
of many runaways, however, there was no really serious accident. 

THE FIRST AEROPLANE 

Exactly ten years after the first automobile brought wonder and 
consternation to the woods, the second miracle of locomotion swooped 
down upon them. 

On October 3, 1912, George A. Gray of Boston, in a Burgess-Wright 



APPENDICES 297 

bi-plane, sailed over the crest of Whiteface and landed at dusk in a 
wheat field near Fletcher's Farm, northeast of the village of Bloom- 
ingdale. He had left Malone about an hour before, and, fearing the 
treacherous air currents of the mountains, had made the entire flight 
at an altitude of over 6,000 feet. 

The news of his arrival spread quickly, and the following morning 
hundreds of automobiles visited the spot. In one of them was old 
Paul Smith, who had come to gaze upon this last word — this fourth 
dimension — in the cycle of transportation which his long life had 
spanned — oxen, horses, autos, airplanes. He even asked for a ride 
in the airship, but the wind was blowing so hard that the request had 
to be denied. 

The next day the aviator took his bi-plane to Saranac Lake, land- 
ing on the race-track just outside the village. He made this his 
headquarters for several days, giving exhibitions, carrying packages 
to surrounding camps, and taking passengers on short flights. Among 
the adventurous was Miss Edith M. Stearns, a young lady from Vir- 
ginia, who was staying at Fletcher's Farm. She made a flight from 
there to Saranac Lake, and thereby established the record of being 
the first woman to aviate the Adirondacks. The trip proved so pleas- 
ant that a year later she became the wife of the aviator. 



I 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

FOREWORD 

The mass of scattered literature which merely touches the Adiron- 
dacks incidentally is so large, and much of it is of so little value, that 
a set policy of elimination has been adopted in compiling this bibli- 
ography. The effort has been to make it workably adequate for the 
average reader, rather than tenuously and technically complete for the 
bibliophile. The following classes of publication have therefore been 
omitted : 

Annual Reports or Year Books of clubs and associations 

Folders or booklets for advertising purposes. 

State Gazetteers, State guide-books, geographies. 

Fiction. 

Newspaper articles. 

Collections of scenic views. 

The bibliography is divided into two parts. The first part repre- 
sents the author's collection of Adirondackana, gathered together 
for use in this history. It is listed separately as the Donaldson 
Collection,^ because it is destined to pass under that title to a per- 
manent home in the Saranac Lake Free Library. It contains all of 
the very few books devoted exclusively to the Adirondacks, and the 
most important of the many that mention the region incidentally. 
Of pamphlets it contains the rarest known to exist. Of innumerable 
magazine articles it contains those having the greatest historical in- 
terest. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY— DONALDSON COLLECTION 

STATE REPORTS 
(Details concerning all these Reports will be found in the Legislative Chapter.) 

CoLViN Reports 

First Topographical 1S72 Adirondack and Land Survey ISSfi 

Second Topographical 1873-74 Adirondack and Land Survey 1801 

Third Topographical 1875-70 Adirondack and Land Survey. . . 1804 

Adirondack and Land Survey. ... 1884 Adirondack and Land Survey. ... 1806 

1 So far as I am aware there is only one other as complete collection in exis^t- 
ence. This belongs to Mr. Frederick H. Comstock of New York, who has for 
many years had a summer home in Keene Valley. 

299 



300 BIBLIOGRAPHY ' 

Forest Preserve Board Reports Fisheries, Game, and Forest 

First Annual 1897 Commission 

Second Annual 1898 1895 Quarto. Colored 

Third Annual 1899 1896 " Plates. 

Fourth Annual 1900 1897 

189S 
(These Reports deal entirely with 1899 " " 

land transactions and have no general 

interest. They have become very Forest, Fish, and Game Commission 
rare.) 1900 Quarto. Colored 

1901 " Plates. 

1902—1903 
Forest Commission Reports 1904— 1905— 190G " " 

1885 1907—1908—1909 

1886 1910 Octavo. 

1887 1 

1888 Conseevatton Commission 

1889 2 1911 

1890 (Fifth Report) 1912 

1891 1913 

1892 1914 

1893 (2 vols.) 1915 Paper-bound 

1894 1910 pamphlet. 

1917 

1918 
1919 
1920 



BOOKS OF TRAVEL 

Date of (Chronologically arranged) 

publica- 
tion : 

1839 Hoffman, Charles Fenno. Wild Scenes in the Forest and Prairie. 

London : Richard Bentley. 2 vols. Pp. 576. 

The first 122 pages describe a trip to 'the sources of the Hudson." 

Jolin Cheney and Harvey Holt are tlie guides. An American edition of 

tliis book in one volume appeared in 1843. New York: Colyer. 
1845 Todd, John. Lonp: Lake. Pittsfield : E. P. Little. Pp. 100. 

Tliis is a rare item. Particular reference is made to it in Chapter 

XXXIV. Contains much of historical value. 
1850 Headley, J. T. Letters from the Backwoods and the Adirondae. 

New York: John S. Taylor. Pp. 105. 

This is also quoted in Chapter XXXIV. Much narrative description, 

but little of historical value. 

1 This is merely a pamphlet of fourteen pages, consisting of recommendations 
as to changes in the law. It is very rare. 

2 This consists of three printed pages only, stating that a supplemental report 
will be published. This does not appear to have been done, however, as the Re- 
port for 1890 is designated as the "Fifth." 






BIBLIOGRAPHY 301 



1853 Headley, J. T. The Adirondack, or Life in tlio Woods. New York: 
Baker and Scribner. Illus, Pp. 288. 

This is the best-known and most widely road of the early travel hooka. 
It is full of long, rather sentimental descriptions and himting-stoiies. 
but contains little of historical value. 

1855 Hammond, S. H. and L. W. Mansfield. Country Margins and 

Rambles of a Journalist. New York: J. C. Derby. Pp. 35C. Pp. 

293-329 devoted to the Adirondacks. 

A rambling story, without historical value. 

1856 Lanman, Charles. Adventures in the Wilds of America (and Brit- 

ish American Provinces). Philadelphia: John W. Moore. 2 vols. 
Pp. 1031. 

Pages 211-237 are devoted to the Adirondacks and are full of interest. 
They treat of Schroon Lake, an ascent of Tahawus, and John Cheney. 

1856 Murray, Amelia Matilda. Letters from the United States, Cuba and 

Canada. By Hon. Amelia Murray. New York: Putnam's. Pp. 
402. 2 vols, in one. 

Letter XXIX, pp. 307-387, describes a trip through the Adirondacks 
and contains much of historical interest. The author was lady-in-wait- 
ing to Queen Victoria and the first lady of record to make a journey 
across the Wilderness. See Chap. XIII, under "Otis Arnold," 

1857 Hammond, S. H. Wild Northern Scenes, or Sporting Adventures 

with the Rifle and the Rod. New York: Derby & Jackson. Pp. 
341. 

Little more than a string of hunting and fishing yarns with the Adiron- 
dacks as a background. 

1860 Street, Alfred B. Woods and Waters, or the Saranacs and Racket. 
New York: M. Doolady. Map and 9 views. Pp. 345. 
The author was at one time State Librarian. His book, while full of 
the usual hunting stories, contains many facts of historical interest. 

1864 [Author's name does not appear]. The Forest Arcadia of Northern 
New York (Embracing A View of Its Mineral, AgTicultural, and 
Timber Resources). Boston: T. 0. H. P. Burnham, and New York: 
Oliver S. Felt. Pp. 224. 

Camp stories interspersed with philosophical reflection, but falling 
rather short of the promise in its title. 

1866 Lossing, Benson J. The Hudson, from the Wilderness to the Sea. 
(Illustrated by 306 engravings on wood, from drawings by the 
author). New York: Virtue & Yorston. Pp. 464. Pp. 1-58 are 
devoted to the Adirondacks. 

This follows the Hudson "from its birth among the mountains to its 
marriage with the ocean." It is a scholarly work, brimming at 
every page with historical interest. 



302 BIBLIOGRAPHY 



1869 Street, Alfred B. The Indian Pass. New York: Hurd & Houghton. 
Pp. 201. 

The Introduction is packed full of valuable information. The descrip- 
tion of the pass is full of genuine enthusiasm, but so long as to be- 
come tenuous. 

1869 Murray, William H. H. Adventures in the Wilderness, or Camp 
Life in the Adirondacks. Boston: Fields, Osgood & Co. lUus. 
Pp. 236. 

This most widely read and notorious of Adirondack books is fully dis- 
eased in Chap. XVII. 

1872 Smith, H. Perry. The Modem Babes in the Wood, or Sumraerings 

in the Wilderness. Hartford: Columbian Book Co. lUus. Pp. 
237. 

Hunting and fishing stories in lighter vein, but with a fair sprinkling 
of historical interest. The title-page says: "To whch is added a re- 
liable and descriptive Guide to the Adirondacks, by E. R. Wallace," 
but I have never been able to find a copy of the two books in one 
volume. 

1873 Halloek, Charles. The Fishing Tourist. New York : Harper & Bros. 

Pp. 239. 

Only a few pages, 67-70, are devoted to the Adirondacks, and they con- 
tain a mere guide-book description of routes and places. 

1874 Prime, Samuel I. Under the Trees. New York: Harper & Bros. 

Pp. 313. 

Pages 0'2-l.']7 are devoted to the Adirondacks. They mention only the 

better-known places and have no special interest. 

1880 Lundy, J. P. [No name on the title-page, but initials are signed to 
the dedication.] Saranac Exiles. Philadelj)hia : Author's unpub- 
lished edition for private circulation. Paper-bound. Pp. 329. 
Tliis rare and interesting book is fully discussed in Chap. XX. 

1880 Northrup, A. Judd. Camps and Tramps in the Adirondacks. Syra- 

cuse: Davis, Bardeen & Co. Pp. 302. 

A running narrative of camping experiences, with very slight historical 

intercsit. 

1881 Cook, Marc. Tlie Wilderness Cure. New York: William Wood & 

Co. Pp. 1.53. 

This was the first book of its kind to be published, and is very readable 

for any one interested in the curative quality of the Adirondack woods. 

1893 Osborne, Edward B. Forest, Lake and Random Rhymes. Pough- 
keepsie: (No publisher). Illus. Pp. 182. 

The first 50 pages are devoted to "Letters from the Woods." They were 
written between 1S5C and 187L but have very slight historical interest. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 303 



1917 Longstretb, T. Morris. The Adu'ondacks. New York: The Century 
Co. IIlus. Map. Pp. 36G. 

A sequence of campings and trauipings most alluringly told. This book 
is quoted from in Chap. XXVIII. See "Lake Placid Club." 

LETTERS AND ESSAYS 

Burroughs, John. Wake-Robin. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 1885. Pp. 
289. "Adirondac" (Summer 1863), pp. 95-125. 

Chalmers, Stephen. The Penny Piper of Saranae. An Episode in Steven- 
son's Life. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 1916. Pp.65. 

The Beloved Physician (Dr. E. L. Trudeau). Privately printed. 

1915. Pp. 43. 

Emerson, Edward Waldo. The Early Years of the Saturday Club; 1855- 
1870. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 1918. Illus. Pp. 514. 
Contains sketches of all the members of Philosophers' Camp. 

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Boston: 
Houghton Mifflin. 1913. Vol. IX, pp. 159-162, Adirondacks. 

Poems Centenary Edition. "The Adirondacs," pp. 182-194. 

Stevenson, R. L. Letters of R. L. S. to His Family and Friends. Edited 
by Sidney Colvin. New York : Scribner's. 1907. Vol. IL Adirondacks: 
pp. 66-130. 

Stevenson, Mrs. M. I. From Saranae to the Marquesas and Beyond; Let- 
ters written during 1887-1888. London: Methuen & Co. 1903. Pp. 258. 
Adirondacks : pp. 1-43. 

Stillman, W. J. The Old Rome and New and Other Studies. Boston: 
Houghton Mifflin. 1898. Pp. 296. 
"The Philosophers' Camp," p. 2G5ff. Used in Autobiography. 

Van Dyke, Henry. Little Rivers. New York: Scribner's. 1904. Pp. 340. 
"Ampersand," pp. 67-93. 

Warner, Charles Dudley. Backlog Edition. Hartford: American Publish- 
ing Co. 1904. 
"In the Wilderness," Vol. VI, pp. 1-136. 

BIOGRAPHIES 

Balfour, Graham. Life of Robert Louis Stevenson. New York : Scribner's. 
1901. 2 vols. Port. map. 0. 
Chap. XII. "The United States, 1887-1888." Adirondacks: Vol. II. pp. 30-49. 

Brace, Emma. [Mrs. Henry H. Donaldson.] The Life and Letters of 
Charles Loring Brace. New York : Scribner's. 1894. Pp. 503. 
Pp. 205, 223, 344, 464, Adirondack Letters. 

Byron-Curtiss, A. L. The Life and Adventures of Nat Foster. Utica: 
Thos. J. Griffiths, 1897. Pp. 286. 



304 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Chittenden, L. E. Personal Keminiseenees. 1840-1890. New York: Rich- 
mond Croscup & Co. 1893. Pp. 427. 
Adiroiidacks : pp. 13!)- Kit). 

Greenslet, Ferris. The Life of Thomas Bailey Aldrich. Boston: Houghton 
Mifflin. 1908. Illus. Pp. 303. 
Adirondacks: p. 217 ff. 

Jesup, Henry Griswold. Edward Jessup and His Descendants. Cambridge: 
John Wilson & Son. 1887. Pp. 442. 
"Totten & Crossfield Purchase," p. 211 ff. 

Knight, William. Memorials of Thomas Davidson, The Wandering Scholar. 
Boston: G inn & Co. 1907. Pp. 241. 
Glenmore School. Chaps. X, XT, pp. 55-74. 

Porter, Noah. A Memorial by Friends. Edited by George S. Merriam. 
New York: Seribner's. 1893. Pp. 306. 
Adirondacks: pp. 153-16G. 

Radford, Harry V. Adirondack Murray. New York : Broadway Publish- 
ing Co. 1905. Illus. Pp. 84. 

Richards, Geo. H. Memoir of Alexander Macomb. New York: M'Elrath, 
Bangs & Co. 1833. Pp. 130. 

Sanborn, F. B. Life and Letters of John Brown. London : Sampson Low. 
1885. Pp. 632. 
Adirondacks: Chap. IV, pp. 90-115. 

Stillman, William James. Autobiography of a Journalist. Boston : Hough- 
ton Mifflin. 1901. 2 Vols. 
Adirondacks: Chaps. X, XIII, XV. 

Todd, John E. John Todd, The Story of His Life. New York : Harper & 
Bros. 1876. Pp. 528. 
Adirondacks: Chap. XXXIII. 

Simms, Jeptha R. Trappers of New York, or a Biography of Nicholas 

Stoner and Nathaniel Foster. Albany: J. Munsell. 1871. Pp. 287. 
Trudeau, E. L. An Autobiography. Philadelpliia and New York: Lea & 

Febiger. 1916. Illus. Pp. 322. 
Villard, Oswald Garrison. John Brown: a Biography Fifty Years After. 

Boston : Houghton Mifflin. 1911. Pp. 738. 

Adirondacks: p. 72 ff. 



HISTORIES 

Essex County, History of. Winslow C. Watson. Albany: J. Munsell. 

1869. Pp. 504. 
Essex County, History of. H. P. Smith. Syracuse : D. Mason & Co. 1885. 

Pp. 754. . 
St. LawTenee and Franklin Counties, History of. Franklin B. Hough. 

Albany: Little & Co. 1853. Pp. 719. 






BIBLIOGRAPHY 305 

Clinton and Franklin Counties, History of. Philadelphia: J W Lewis & 
Co. 1880. Illus. Pp. 508. 
"The Adirondacks," p. 497 S. 

Herkimer County, History of. Nathaniel S. Benton. Albany: J. Munsell 
1856. Pp. 497. 

Lewis County, History- of. Franklin B. Hough. Albany : Munsell & Row- 
land. 1860. Pp. 319. 
"The Castorland," pp. 34-70. 

Historical Sketches of Franklin County. Frederick J. Seaver. Albany: 

J. B. Lyon Co. 1918. Pp. 819. 
Historical Sketches of Northern New York. Nathaniel Bartlett Sylvester. 

Troy: Wm. H. Young. 1877. Pp. 316. 
Champlain Valley, Pioneer History of. Winslow C. Watson. Albany: 

J. Munsell. 1863. Pp. 221. 
Pleasant Valley, A History of Elizabethtown. George Levi Brown. Eliza- 

bethtown : Post & Gazette Print. 1905. Pp.474. 
The Story of Saranac. Henry W. Raymond. New York: Grafton Press. 

1909. Illus. Pp. 78. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Geological Survey of New York, Feb. 20, 1838. Including Report of E. 
Emmons, Geologist of the Second District. 
"The Mountains of Essex," p. 240 ff. 

Myths and Legends of Our Own Land. Charles M. Skinner. Philadelphia: 
J. B. Lippincott. 1896. 2 vols. 
Adirondacks: Vol. I, pp. 80-90. 

Aboriginal Place Names of New York. Bulletin 108, New York State Mu- 
seum. Wm. M. Beauchamp. Albany: New York State Education De- 
partment. 1907. Pp. 279. 

William's Quarterly. Bound Vol. VIII. 1860. 
Adirondack Wilderness. Vol IX, pp. 1-10. 
Sketch of Dr. Emmons. Vol. IX, pp. 260-269. 

The Adirondacks as a Health Resort. Joseph W. Stickler, M. S., M. D. 
New York : G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1886. Pp. 198. 

American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society, 23rd Annual Report, 
1918. 
"Macomb Landmarks," pp. 134-146. 

18th Annual Report, 1913. 

"Adirondack Forest Preserve," pp. 224-244. 

Where to go in the Adirondacks (and on Lake George and on Lake Cham- 
plain). George R. Hardie. Canton, N. Y. 1909. Pp. 96. 



306 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

RARE PAAIPHLETS 

Papers and Documents Relative to the Mohawk and St. Lawrence Railroad 
and Navigation Company. Albany : J. Munsell. 1838. Pp24 Map 
The interesting old map in this pamphlet shows the proposed line of the rail- 
road from Little Falls to Raquette Lake. See Chap. XL 

Assembly Document No. 133. January 30, 1839. Communication from the 
Secretary of State, transmitting the report of a survey of a Rail-Road from 
Ogdensburgh to Lake Champlain. 
This became the "Northern Railroad." See Chap. XL. 

Ascent and Barometrical Measurment of Mt. Seward. Verplanck Colvin 
Albany: the Argus Co. 1872. "Printed in advance of the Report." 

An Attempt to Present the Claims of Long Lake to the Consideration of all 
those who are in Search after Good Land at a Low Price. By Amos 
Dean, one of the Proprietors. Albany: Joel Munsell. 1846 
This interesting pamphlet is fully discussed in Chap. XXXIV. 

Historical Notes of the Settlement on No. 4, Brown's Tract, in Watson, Lewis 
County, N. Y., with Notices of the Early Settlers. Utica: Roberts, printer, 

Ap^'erldif?^^^^ *^^ ''*'''* Adirondack item in e.xistence. See Chap. XIII and 

Why the Wilderness is called Adirondack. By Henry Domburgh. Glens 

Falls: Job Department, Daily Times, 1885. 

For details of this pamphlet see Chap. XIV. 
A paper Read Before the American Geographical and Statistical Society. 

No^v^mber 2, 1854. By C. H. Waddell. New York: G. P. Putnam & Co. 

An Address Before the Albany Institute on the Adirondack Wilderness. 
By^Lemon Thompson, March 18, 1884. Albany: Weed, Parsons & Co. 

^M^fT^ fi'°'T= Biographical Sketches and Anecdotes of Men that 
Made the Adirondack's Famous. With Portraits. John H. Titus Troy 
Iroy Times Art Press. 1899. 
Loaned to the collection by Mr. Fred T. Tremble. 

^TLuZT'^'^'T ""'"'' " *'' Adirondacks. By J. Dyneley Prince. 
Published m the Journal for American Folk-lore for 1900. Pp. 123-128. 

GUIDE-BOOKS 

Wallace E. R Descriptive Guide to the Adirondacks. Syracuse: 1872. 
Pocket map by Dr. W. W. Ely. Illus. Pp 273 
i?.'to"th *rtf "' ^"!f -^^^k to be devoted solely to these mountains. Accord- 

Itht Th T '^'\'"''''''' ^ "^^'-^ °^^- «^^" the two w«rk8 bound to- 

ZtZ the^rT-di':::."^^"^' " '- ^^^^ '^ ^*-"' ^^"--^^ ^^ ^- ^he 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



30( 



The "Guide" appeared from time to time in revised and enlar-od editions and 
the one of 1896 (pp. 527) is particularly full of valuable historical documents 
and data. 

Stoddard, S. R. The Adirondacks: Illustrated. Albany: Van Benthuvsen 
& Sons. 1874. Pp. 194. 

Through the purely guide book portions of this work there runs a descriptive 
narrative of a trip through the woods, and this combination was continued up 
to 1911, when the last edition appeared. A new one had been issued annually 
for the long period of thirty-seven years. The last one was greatly reduced in 
size and material, and tiie preface offered the following explanation: "Wild 
grass grows on the old routes and the unknown places of then (1873) are now 
(1011) centers of a summer population greater than the total of all Adiron- 
dack visitors of twenty years ago. So the old 'Narrative' is dropped and the 
space given to that which is believed to be of more value to the tourist gener- 
ally condensed and in a more convenient size for the pocket." 
These words proved valedictory. The little book had out-lived its usefulness, 
after a long reign of popularity. It was the better known of the two guide- 
books, but historically Wallace's was far more richly stocked. 



EARLY MAGAZINE ARTICLES 

(Chronologically Arranged) 

1838 Some Account of Two Visits to the Mountains in Essex County, New 
York, in the Years 1836 and 1837; with a Sketch of the Northern 
Sources of the Hudson. W. C. Redfield. Family Magazine. 1838. 
(Reprinted from American Journal of Science and xli-ts.) 
This is the earliest magazine article I know of, and is a most interesting one. 

1854 The Wilds of Northern New York. Anon. Putnam's ]\Ionthly. 
September. 
Another very interesting article, written probably by Prof. F. N. Benedict. 

1859 A Forest Story. The Adirondack Woods and Waters. T. Addison 
Richards. Harper's New Monthly Magazine. September. 
A trip to pome well-known places. Desultory narrative without much his- 
torical interest. 
1859 A Visit to John BrovtTi's Tract. T. B. Thorpe. Harper's New 
Monthly Magazine. July. 
This is a humorous article, but has also historical interest. I have quoted 
from it in Chap. XTII. 

1869 Keene Deliehts. Lucy Fountain. Putnam's Magazine. December. 

A pleasing description of Keene Valley, but dealing mainly with the scenery. 

1870 The Raquette Club. Anon. Harper's New Monthly Magazine. 

August. 
This was written by Charles Hallook. It is a clever satire, most amusingly 
illustrated, on the "Murray Rush." I have quoted from it in Chap. XVII. 
1881 Camp Lou. Marc Cook. Harper's New Monthly Magazine. May. 
This tells how a very sick man regained his health in the woods. It was the 



308 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

first experience of the kind to be published, and as such attracted wide-spread 
attention. It brought forth such a flood of inquiries from interested invalids 
that the author expanded his article into a book called The Wilda-ness Cure. 

1885 Ampersand. Henry Van Dyke. Harper's New Monthly Magazine. 
July. 
Charming description of a climb up Ampersand Mountain, included later in 
the volume of essays entitled Little Rivers. 

1888 Winter in the Adirondacks. Hamilton Wright Mabie. Scribner's 
Magazine. December. 
Mainly descriptive of the scenery. 



SOME JOHN BROWN MAGAZINE ARTICLES 

How We Met John Brown. R. H. Dana, Jr. Atlantic Monthly. July, 
1871. 

John Brown in the Adirondacks. Albert Shaw. Review of Reviews. Sep- 
tember, 1896. 

John Brown at North Elba. Elizabeth Porter Gould. Outlook. Novem- 
ber, 1896. 

The Final Burial of the Followers of John Brown. Thomas Featherston- 
haugh. New England Magazine. April, 1901. 

An Adirondack Pilgrimage. May Ellis Nichols. National Magazine. July, 
1903. 

The Funeral of John Brown. Rev. Joshua Young, D. D. New England 
Magazine. April, 1904. 

Ruth Thompson's Last Letter to Her Father, Written at North Elba, Novem- 
ber 27, 1S59. Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society — Jan- 
uary, February, March, 1908. P. 330. 



SOME ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON MAGAZINE ARTICLES 

Stevenson's Second Visit to America. William Henry Duncan, Jr. Book- 
man. January, 1900. 

The Trail of Stevenson. (Pari; VI. The United States.) Clayton Hamil- 
ton. Bookman. March, 1915. 

My Autobiography. S. S. McCIure. (Visits to Stevenson at Saranac Lake.) 
McClure's. March, 1914. 

The Singer in the Snows. Stephen Chalmers. Medical Pickwick. January, 
1915. 

(This is the first number of a unique magazine published for a brief period 
at Saranac Lake.) 

Stevenson and Saranac. Lawrason Brown. Pamphlet reprint from a cata- 
log of an exhibition of Stevenson first editions at the Grolier Club in No- 
vember, 1914. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 309 



ADIRONDACK MAGAZINES 

Woods and Waters. (A Quarterly.) 

This was the only magazine ever devoted exclusively to the Adirondacks, al- 
though it occasionally espoused the cause of game protection in other parts of 
the country. It was published by Harry V. Radford (see Chapter XVIII). 
The earlier issues consisted of only a few pages without any cover, but it 
gradually grew in size and importance, and came to have several thousand 
subscribers. 

It was started in 1898 and was discontinued in 1906. 

The earlier issues are very scarce, and it has not been my good fortune to 
procure any. This collection contains the following numbers only: 

Vol. Ill No. 4. 1900-01 

Vol. IV No. 2, 4. 1901-02 

Vol. V No. 2. 1902-03 

Vol. VI No. 1, 2, 3, 4. 1903-04 

Vol. VII No. 1, 2, 3, 4. 1904-05 

Stoddard's Northern Monthly. 

This was started in May, 1906, by S. R. Stoddard, of Glens Falls, the guide- 
book author. His Magazine was intended to fill the place left vacant by the 
discontinuance of Woods and Waters, but it did not prove so popular nor suc- 
cessful. The monthly did not have behind it the pushing personality or the 
concentrated enthusiasm of the less pretentious quarterly. Nominally devoted 
to the Adirondacks, a major portion of its contents consisted of extraneous 
matter — foreign travel, fiction, poetry. It began, moreover, where the quarterly 
ended, and ended where the quarterly began. The first number was a full- 
fledged magazine, with a frontispiece in color; then, at the beginning of the 
second year, the size was reduced to a thin duodecimo, and the last number ap- 
peared in September, 1908. 

This collection contains a complete set of this magazine: 
Vol. I, No. 1. May, 1906 to Vol. IV, No. 3. September, 1908. 

Journal of the Outdoor Life. 

June, 1910. — A Trudeau Number, "Commemorating the Completion of Twenty- 
five years of Pioneer Work." 

The first number of this magazine was published in February, 1904. It was 
founded and edited by Dr. Lawrason Brown, then resident-physician at tha 
Trudeau Sanatorium. In 1909 it was taken over by some physicians in New 
York, and it is now published by the National Tuberculosis Association. 

Forest Leaves. 

The announcement to the first issue of this little magazine says: 

"Forest Leaves will be a quarterly magazine. It will be published by the 

Sanitarium Gabriels at Gabriels, N. Y. It will be written by friends of the 

Adirondacks. to be read by friends of the Adirondacks. 

"Forest Leaves will be stirred by the breezes of the northern woods, and will 

whisper of the healthful delights of living where the air is wafted from a pure 

sky to a clean earth." 

It was started in December, 1903, by Sister Mary P. H. Kieran, the beloved 

head of Gabriels Sanitarium, near Paul Smith's. Sister Mary made the 



310 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

magazine her special hobby and nursed it into a notable success. It spread 
the message of her splendid charity abroad, received the support of friendly 
advertisers, and offered the contributions of eminent writers. Sister Mary 
herself contributed, especially to the earlier numbers, many articles of historical 
interest. She died in 1914, but the publication of the magazine has been con- 
tinued. 
This collection contains the following numbers: 



Vol. 


I 








\ol. 


11 








Vol. 


IV 


No. 


2, 




Vol. 


X 


No. 


2, 


3, 


Vol. 


XI 


No. 


1, 


2, 


Vol. 


XII 


No. 


1, 


2, 


Vol. 


XV 


No. 


3, 





Complete, bound, 


1903-1904 


Complete, 


1905-1906 




1907 




1913-1914 




1914-1915 




1915-1916 




1919 




1919-1920 



Vol. XVI No. 1, 



MAGAZINES WHOSE SCOPE OFTEN TOUCHES THE ADIRONDACKS 

Field and Stream. 

1901: 1902: 

June, May, 

September, Jime, 

October, July, 

December. August. 

While this collection contains the above issues only, nearly every number of 
this magazine has some Adirondack material in it, and for years it ran a 
special Adirondack Department, which was started by Harry V. Radford. 

Outing. 

The Sporting Clubs of the Adirondacks. — Seaver A. Miller. August, 1898. 
This magazine also contains much Adirondack material scattered through its 
many issues since 1882. 

The Conser\-ationist. 
A little magazine published monthly by the Conservation Commission since 
January 1, 1917. 



PUBLICATIONS OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE 
ADIRONDACKS 

(The Annual Reports have been included in this list, because they are es- 
sentially documents of historical value and general interest. The few num- 
bers missing from this collection have been marked with an asterisk. A com- 
plete file is in the New York Public Library.) 

No. 1.* Depew, Chauncey M. National Appalachian Forest Reserve. 

Speech in Senate of United States. June 7, 1902. Pp. 8. 
No. 2.* List of Officers and Members. 1903. Pp. 48. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 311 

No. 3. A Plea for the Adirondack and Catskill Parks: An argument for 
the resumption, by the State of New York, of the policy of acquir- 
ing lands for the public benefit within the limits of the forest pre- 
serve. 1903. Pp. 30. 

No. 4. Hall, E. H. The Adirondack Park: A sketch of the origin, the 
romantic charms and the practical uses of the Adirondack Park, 
and some reasons for the acquisition of land and reforestation by 
the State of New York. 1903. Pp. 32. Illus. 

No. 5. Suter, H. M. Forest Fires in the Adirondacks in 1903. 1904. 
Pp. 16. Also published as Circular 26, United States Forestry Di- 
vision. 

No. 6.* The Adirondack Appropriation Bill of 1906: Reasons why the 
State should make liberal provision for extending the Forest Pre- 
serve within the Adirondack and Catskill Parks. 1906. Pp. 20. 

No. 7. Annual Report, No. 5, for 1906. Including an opinion by Hon. 
Joseph Choate concerning the application of the Forestry Section 
of the State Constitution to Reservoirs on State Forest Lands, and 
press comments on the Constitutional Amendment proposed by the 
Legislature of 1906. 1906. Pp. 32. 

No. 8. Letter to the Members of the Lei;islature of the State of New York : 
Concerning the proposed Amendment to Section 7 of Article VII 
of the Constitution relating to the Forest Preserve. 1907. Pp. 16. 

No. 9. A Brief Review of the depredations upon the Adirondack forests ac- 
complished or attempted during the past few years, with reference 
to the proposed Amendment to . . . the Constitution together with 
a statement by Governor Hughes . . . letters from prominent citi- 
zens, and the action of the People's Institute of New York. 1907. 
Pp. 20. 

No. 10. The Legislature of the State of New York for 1907. 1907. Pp. 7. 

No. 11.* Tinkering with the Constitution: Some reasons why the proposed 
Amendment , , . should not be adopted; together with letters from 
Charles Sprague Smith of the People's Institute of New York and 
Dr. Walter B. James on the subject. 1907. Pp. 12. 

No. 12.* Agar, John G. : Paper read at the convention called by the 
Albany Chamber of Commerce . . . March 14, 1907, to consider the 
pending Constitutional Amendment relating to the construction of 
dams and the storage of waters on the Forest Preserve for public 
purposes. 1907. Pp. 32. 

No. 13. Sixth annual report of the Hon. Henry E. Howland, President: 
Including a brief summary of reasons why Section 7 of Article VII 
of the Constitution should not be amended, extracts from prelim- 
inary reports of the Association's engineers, and testimony concern- 
ing unsanitary conditions produced by storage reservoirs in the 
Adirondacks. ' 1907. Pp. 30. 



312 BIBLIOGRAPHY §■ 

PUBLICATIONS OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF 
THE ADIRONDACKS 

No. 14. Graves, H. S. : Address at the American Museum of Natural His- 
tory . . . April 25, 1907, giving reasons why the Constitution of 
the State of New York should now be amended so as to permit 
Water Storage in the Adirondack Park. 1907. Pp. 10. 

No. 15.* The Conservation of the Waters and Woods of the State of New 
York: An address delivered May 10, 1907 ... in favor of a com- 
prehensive plan of water storage, and appropriations for extending 
the Forest Preserve and replanting. 1907. Pp. 15. 

No. 16. Seventh Annual Report of the Hon. Henry E. Rowland, President: 
Including draft of a proposed Constitutional Amendment permitting 
water storage on State Lands outside of the Adirondack and Catskill 
Parks; extracts from messages of President Roosevelt and Governor 
Hughes, etc. 1908. Pp. 20. 

No. 17. Drowned State Lands on the Saranac River: A statement of some 
of the facts involved in the suit . . . against the Paul Smith's Elec- 
tric Light and Power and Railroad Company for a permanent 
injunction restraining the defendant from taking lands belonging 
to the State Forest Preserve and destroying the timber thereon. 
1908. Pp. 22, pi. 

No. 18. Eighth Annual Report of the Hon. Henry E. Howland, President: 
With reference to the Forest Fires of 1908 and including the Con- 
stitution and By-Laws of the Association. 1909. Pp. 17. 

No. 19.* Ninth Annual Report of Henry E. Howland, President: With 
reference to Adirondack Legislation in 1910. . . . 1910. Pp. 28. 

No. 20. Tenth Annual Report of tlie President, April 11, 1911: With a 
paper on the Conservation of the Woods and Waters of the Adiron- 
dacks presented at the 2d National Conservation Congress in St. 
Paul, Minn., Sept. 5-9, 1910. 1911. Pp. 47. 

No. 21. Eleventh Annual Report of the President, April 9, 1912: With 
a memorandum of conservation legislation proposed in the Legis- 
lature of 1912. 1912. Pp. 44. 

No. 22. Twelfth Annual Report of the President, 1913: With a memo- 
randum of Conservation Legislation proposed in the Legislature of 
1913. 1913. Pp. 24. 

No. 23. Tliirteenth Annual Report of the President, 1914. 1914. Pp. 26. 

No. 24. State Policy of Forest and Water Power Conser\-ation: An ad- 
dress by John G. Agar at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of 
Political Science in the City of New York, November 20, 1914. 

No. 25. Fourteenth Annual Report of the President : And a Supplemental 
Report on the Revision of the State Constitution. 1915. Pp. 39. 

No. 26. Fifteenth Annual Report of the President: With Supplementary 
Information. 1916. Pp. 24. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 313 

No. 27. Sixteenth Annual Report of the President: With Supplementary 
Information. 1917. Pp. 24. 

No. 28. Land Purchase for the Forest Preserve: Su-gestion for a State 
Policy. The Lake Placid Situation. December, 1917. Pp. 16. 

No. 29. Seventh Annual Report of the President: And a Paper on Water 
Conservation in New York. 1918. Pp. 41. 

No. 30. Eighteenth Annual Report of the President: With Supplementary- 
Information. 1919. Pp. 76. 



ADIRONDACK PUBLICATIONS OF THE NEW YOKK BOARD OF TRADE 
AND TRANSPORTATION 

April, 1885. The Preservation of the Adirondack Forests and their relation 
to the Commerce of the State. The Harbor of New York City 
and the Canals of the State Jeopardized. 

April, 1893. Joint letter to Governor Flower protesting against the ap- 
proval of bill to amend the law of 1885. 

June, 1894. Proposed amendment to the Constitution of the State of New 
York to preserve its forests, with reasons why. An address to the 
Constitutional Convention of 1894. 

November, 1894. Report on Constitutional Amendment. 

February, 1900. Letter to Legislature and for general distribution, urging 
the creation of a single headed Forestry Commission in place of the 
then existing Fisheries, Game and Forestry Commission. 

January, 1901. A proposed bill to remodel the Forest, Fish and Game Com- 
mission to consist of a single Commissioner with Deputy Commis- 
sioners in charge of several departments of the work. 

March, 1902. Forest Preservation. Should pending amendments to Article 
Seven, Section VII of the State Constitution relating to Forest 
Preserve be passed? Argument against adoption of proposed 
amendment. 

March, 1903. The Water Storage Commission Bill. A menace to the People. 
Protest against Lewis Bill. 

April, 1903. Circular letter. Protest against the Lewis Water Storage 
Commission Bill and urging the adoption of the Stevens Substitute 
Bill prepared by the Board of Trade and Transportation. 

April, 1903. The Water Storage Humbug. The amended Lewis Bill a bad 
measure. Protest against the Lewis Bill and advocating passage 
of the Stevens Substitute Bill. 

December, 1903. The State Forests. Forest Fires; Their Danger to Life 
and Property. Systems of Protection in use in other countries and 
states. Water Power should be preserved. The Water Storage Law 
should be enacted. Waste lands should be reforested. Official 
licensed guides should be created. Repeal Forest Preservation Con- 
demnation Law. A report by the Committee on Forests. 



314 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

March, 1905, Circular entitled "Lumber Thieves in the People's Forests," 
approving recommendation of Governor Higgins and urging him to 
remove from office officials through whose neglect lumber was cut 
or removed from State lands and urging the passage of amendments 
to the law to compel the prosecution of trespasses and theft. 

March, 1905. Increased Water Supply for Greater New York. A State 
Commission and a New York City Water Supply Commission advo- 
cated by joint report by Committee on Forests and Committee on 
City Affairs. 

February, 1907. The Water Storage Schemes to Enrich the Schemer. 

February, 1907. Pending Constitutional Amendment Relating to the State 
Forest Preserve. Argument against proposed amendment to Article 
Seven, Section VII of the State Constitution introduced by Assem- 
blyman Merritt. 

April, 1907. A bill for water power development introduced by Senator 
Fuller and Assemblyman Jolin Lord O'Brian. An act authorizing 
the State Water Supply Commission to devise plans for the pro- 
gressive development under State management and control and mak- 
ing an appropriation therefor. 

April, 1909. Water Storage in the New York State Forest Preserve. Urg- 
ing the amendment to the Constitution to provide for the limited 
area of the Forest Preserve for water storage. 

April, 1910. Report on bills introduced by Senator Cobb and Assemblyman 
Fowler carrying out a general plan of development of water storage 
within and outside the Forest Preserve. 

July, 1911. The policy of New York State in reference to development of 
water powers. 

January, 1914. Forests and water storage policy of the State of New York. 
A letter to Governor GljTin. 

August, 1915. To Elihu Root, President, Constitutional Convention, Albany, 
protesting against pending proposal to establish a Conservation Com- 
mission of nine members. 

September, 1915. Conservation of the State's natural resources. Analysis 
of propositions pending in the Constitutional Convention relating to 
the State and Forest Preserve. 

October, 1915. What every voter should know. A momentous question. 
Vote for Constitutional amendment No. 4. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 315 

BIBLIOGRAPHY— SECOND PART 

The author is deeply indebted to Mr. James A. McMillen for the foUowing 
part of this bibliography, Mr. McMillen graciously compiled it for this his- 
tory as part of the work required for the degree of Bachelor of Library 
Science conferred upon him in 1915 by the New York State Library School 
at Albany. He is now Librarian of Washnigton University, St. Louis, Mo. 

His bibliography was made supplemental to an earlier but much slighter 
one compiled by Miss C. A. Sherill, also a Library School student, and pub- 
hshed in the Annual Report of the Forest, Fish and Game Commission for 
1898. Mr. McMillen's far more extensive and thorough work involved re- 
searches in many of the larger public libraries of the East. 

Items already listed in the Donaldson Collection have not been repeated, 
so that Mr. McMillen's list has been diminished to that extent. It has also 
been re-arranged under separate headings. The library in which a particular 
work was found has been indicated by the following abbreviations : 

Y. M. A. L Young Men's Association Library (Albany) 

L. C Library of Cdngfess 

N. Y. Hist. Soc New York Historical Society Library 

N. Y. P New York Public Library 

N. Y. S New York State Library 

N. Y. S. Mus New York State Museum 

N. Y. S. Trav. Lib. New York State Traveling Libraries 

Prov. Ath Providence Athenaeum 

Univ. Pa. Lib University of Pennsylvania Library 

U. S. D. Agr U. S. Department of Agriculture Library 

Prov. P. L Providence Public Library 

B. P. L Boston Public Library 

The following explanations are offered for those who may not be familiar 
with the many abbreviations used in bibliographic listing: 

c (before dates) copyright 

D 12mo. 

diagr diagram , 

ed edition or editor 

F folio 

f ac facsimile 

illus illustrated 

1 leaves, when pages are unnumbered 

n. d no date 

n. p no place or publisher 

n. s new series 

8vo. 

obi oblong 



316 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

P page 

pi plate 

port portrait 

pseud pseudonym 

Q 4to. 

S 16mo. 

ser series 

T 24mo. 

tab table 

V voliune 

Brackets around letters or numbers indicate additions made by the bibli- 
ographer which do not appear on the printed page. 

Single capitals at the beginning of a title indicate that the article is signed 
with that initial. 



BIOGRAPHY 

Atkinson, Eleanor. The Soul of John Brown; Recollections of the great 
abolitionist by his son. (American Mag., v. 68: 633-43, illus., Oct., 1909.) 
Life at North Elba, p. 638. N. Y. S. 

Bertin, Georges. 1815-1832. Joseph Bonaparte en Amerique . . . Paris: 
Libraire de la Nouvelle Revue, 1893. xv. 423 p., port., tab. D. 
Chap. II. Tatonnements du d^but, p. [22]-54, deals with his estate in North- 
ern New York near lake now known as Bonaparte Lake. N. Y. P. 

Brandreth, Paul. Old Leviathan of Burnt Mountain Lake. (Forest & Str., 
V. 80:[5]-6, 31, illus., Jan. 4, 1913.) 
Account of day spent with Reuben Cary. N. Y. P. 

Brandreth. Paul. Reuben Gary — Forest Patriarch; A Biographical Sketch 
of a Well-Known Adirondack Guide. (Forest & Str., v. 82: 821-22, 854- 
55, port., June 20 & 27, 1914.) N. Y. P. 

Channing, William Ellery. Burial of John Brown; [A Poem]. Boston, 
1860. 8 p. 0. 

Found also in: Orcutt, S. History of Torrington, Conn. 1878. P. 413-19. 

Title from Villard. 

Dana, Richard H., Jr. How we met John Brown. (Atlantic, v. 28:1-9, 
July, 1871.) 

Describes a trip to the Adirondacks in 1849. Party became lost in tlie woods 
and later received shelter at the home of John Brown in North Elba. N. Y. S. 

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson, with annota- 
tions; ed. by Edward Waldo Emerson and Waldo Emerson Forbes. Bos- 
ton: Houghton, Mifflin Co., 1909-14. 10 v. pi., port., fac. O. 
Notes on Adirondack Trip v. 9, 1856-1863, p. 158-61. L. C. 

F. M. H. A Brave Life. (Overland, n. s., v. 6 : 360-67, Oct., 1885.) 

Life of the wife of Capt. John Brown, dealing with Adirondack days and her 
later experiences and burial in the West. N. Y. P. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 317 

Gould, EUzabeth Porter. John Brown at North Elba. (Outlook v ^a. 
909-11, Nov. 21. 1896.) ^ N y S 

Greenslet, Ferris. The Life of Thomas Bailey Aldrich. Boston: Houohton 
Mifflin Co., 1908. xi, 303 p., pi., port. 0. 

Chap. VIII. The last years, 1901-1907, tell of his last days in the Adiron- 
dacks at Saranac Lake, p. 216-27. N Y «; 

Hamilton, Clayton. On the Trail of Stevenson: VI. The United States 
(Bookman, v. 41:[29]-44, illus., Mar., 1915.) 

Life at Saranac Lake, Oct. 3, 18S7-April 16, 1888, characterized as "the most 
productive period of Stevenson's career in the United States," p. 38-42. 

N. Y. S. 

Higginson, Thomas Wentworth A Visit to John Brown's Household in 1859. 
(In his Contemporaries. 1909. p. [219]-i3.) Visit made to family in 
North Elba shortly after John Brown's execution. Reprinted from : Red- 
path, James. The Public Life of Capt. John Brown. 1860. chap. V, p. 
59-72. N. Y. S.; N. Y. P. 

John Brown. (Macmillan's Mag., v. 58:443-52, Oct., 1888.) 

Life at North Elba, p. 446-47 ; Burial at North Elba, p. 452. N. Y. S. 

Knox, M. V. B. "Old Mountain" Phelps. (Field & Str., v. 10:492-93, 
port., Sept., 1905.) 

Sketch of the life of Orson Schofield Phelps, an Adirondack guide beginning in 
1849. N. Y. P. 

Life of John Brown : A Sketch, n.p., n.d. 16 p. T. 

Prepared for distribution at John Brown's Grave. Gives main facts about 
John Brown's life at North Elba and his burial. N. Y. S. 

Literary Landmarks of the Adirondacks. ( Outlook, v. 90 : 105-07, Sept. 19, 

1908.) 

"The Spectator" talks of the Adirondack life of Stevenson, Aldrich, Emerson, 

Lowell, Warner, and others. N. Y. S. 

Low, Will H. A Chronicle of Friendships, 1873-1900; with illustrations by 

the author and from his collections . . . 507 p., pi., port. 0. 

Chap. 31. A Halt Before Saranac, p, 376-86. 

Chap. 33. The Return from Saranac, p. 306-406. 

Tells of Stevenson's Winter in the Adirondacks. N. Y. S. 

Lyman, Henry L. Oration at North Elba, N. Y., July 21, 1896. (New 

York (St.). Fisheries, Game and Forest Commission. Annual Report, 

1897:483-94, pi.) 

Delivered at the dedication of the John Brown Farm as a State Park. Chiefly 

on Brown's life but contains many references to his life at North Elba. N. Y. S. 
McClure, S. S. My Autobiography [Chap. VI.] (McClure's Mag., v. 42: 

95-108, illus., Mar., 1914.) 

Robert Louis Stevenson in the Adirondacks, p. 102-04. N. Y. S. 

Mather, Fred. Men I Have Fished With : Sketches of Character and Incident 

With Rod and Gun, From Childhood to Manhood. . . . New York: Forest 

& Str. Pub. Co., 1897. 371 p., Port. 0. (Forest and Stream Librarj--). 
Pp. 54-78 treat of experiences in the Adirondacks. N. \. P. 



318 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Nichols, May Ellis. An Adirondack Pilgrimage. (National Mag. (Best.), v. 

18: 476-79, illus., July, 1903.) 

Pilgrimage to the home of John Brown at North Elba and the story of the 

establishment of the home as a memorial. N. Y. S. 

Orcutt, Rev. Samuel. History of Torrington, Connecticut, from its First 

Settlement in 1737, with Biographies and Genealogies. Albany: J. Mun- 

sell, 1878. O. 

John Brown at North Elba, p. 335-39. 

Channing, William E. The Burial of John Brown; [a poem], p. 413-19. 

N. Y. S. 

Radford, Harry V. Adirondack Murray: A Biographical Appreciation. 
New York: Broadway Pub. Co., 1905. 84 p., pi., port. T. 
First printed in Woods & Waters, Autumn No., 1904. Prov. Ath. 

Radford, Harry V., The "Adirondack" Murray of Today. (Field & Str., 
V. 6: 238-39, port., Jiuie, 1901.) N. Y. P. 

Roosevelt, Theodore. Theodore Roosevelt: An Autobiography. New York: 
Macmillan, 1913. xii, 647 p., illus.. pi., port. 0. 

Tells of receipt of news of Pres. McKinley's being at the point of death when 
he himself was near the summit of Mt. Tahawus and of his hurried departure 
for the nearest R. R. station 40 miles distant, see 379. First printed in the 
Outlook. N. Y. P. 

Sanborn, F. B. Recollections of Seventy Years. Boston: R. G. Badger, 
1909. 2 v., pi., port., fac. 0. 
Concord and North Elba, v. 1, chap. IV, p. lOS-33. L. C. 

Shaw, Albert. John Brown in the Adirondacks. (Am. Rev. of Revs., v. 14: 
311-17, illus., Sept., 1896.) 

Describes the Brown homestead and the life of John Brown in the Adirondacks. 

N. Y. S. 

Spears, Raj-mond S. That Adirondack **Kid." (Forest & Str., v. 53: 
227, Sept. 16, 1899.) N. Y. P. 



HISTORY 

Blankman, Ed. G. Geography [and history] of St. Lawrence Co., New York. 
Canton, N. Y., 1898. 

Boscq de Beaumont, Gaston du. Aux lacs frangais des Adirondacks (fitats- 
Unis d'Amerique.) (Tour du Monde, n.s., v. 7:[301]-12, illus., 1901.) 
Trip made in 1899, interesting because it gives the impressions received by a 
French traveler. N. Y. P. 

Bruce, Wallace. The Hudson: Three Centuries of History, Romance and 
Invention. New York: Brj-ant Union Co., [c 1913.] 223 p., illus., pi., 
maps. D. 

Saratoga Springs to the Adirondacks, p. 191-96. 
Lake George to the Adirondacks, p. 197-200. 
Source of the Hudson, p. 201-09. N. Y. P. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 319 

Curtis, Gates, ed. Our Country and Its People; A Memorial Record of St 
Lawrence County, New York. Syracuse, N. Y.: D. Mason & Co., 1894 
720, 372 p., illus., port., map. 0. X y S 

[Durant, Samuel W., & Pierce, Henry B.] 1749. History of St. Lawrence 
Co., New York, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of some of its 
Prominent Men and Pioneers. Philadelphia: L. H. Everts & Co., 1878. 
521 p., illus., pi., port., map. F. L C. 

Hardin, George [Anson], ed. History of Herkimer County, New York, illus- 
trated with Portraits of many of its Citizens; ed. by George A. Hardm as- 
sisted by Frank H. Willard. S>Tacuse, N. Y.; D. Mason & Co., 1893. 550 
p., 11, 276 p., illus., port., maps. Q. N Y. S. 

History of Herkimer County, N. Y. . . . New York: F. W. Beers & Co., 
1879. 289 p., illus., pi., port., maps. F. 
At head of title: 1791. N. Y. S. 

How Old Forge (N. Y.) Was Named. (Forest & Str., v. 72:892, June 5, 
1909.) 

Short note on the forge being first put into operation by John Brown (1734- 
1803) early in the 19th century. N. Y. P. 

S. Incidents of Adirondack History. (Forest & Str., v. 48:323-24, Apr. 
24, 1897.) N. Y. P. 

John Brown Farm. (New York (St.). Fisheries, Game and Forest Com- 
mission. Annual Report, 1896:470-83, pi.) 

A review of the movement to purchase farm for the State and of its final dedi- 
cation as State property. Contains a long quotation from T. W. Higginson's 
account of a visit to liome of Jolm Brown shortly after Brown's execution. 

N. Y. S. 

Lee, Francis W. John Brown's Grave. (Garden & Forest, v. 9:108-09, 

Mar. 11, 1896.) 

Account of the cutting of the inscription — "John Brown 1859" — on the boulder 

which marks the grave. N. Y. P.; N. Y. S. 

Lincoln, Charles Z. The Constitutional History of New York from the 

Beginning of the Colonial Period to the year 1905, showing the origin, 

development, and judicial construction of the Constitution, Rochester, 

N. Y. : Lawyers Co-op. Pub. Co., 1906. 6 v. 0. 

V. 3, 1894-1905. The Forest Preserve, p. 391-454. N- Y. S. 

Maeauley, James. Natural, Statistical and Civil History of the State of 

New York. New York : Gould & Banks, 1829. 3 v. 0. 

Sacondaga Mts., v. 1, p. 2-9. N. Y. S. 

McClellan, Katherine Elizabeth. A Hero's Grave In The Adirondacks. 

Saranac Lake, N. Y. : pub. by the Author, [cl896]. 8 1., illus., port. obi. 

S, ([Adirondack Series].) 

Tells of John Brown's life in the Adirondacks and is intended for distribution 

at the Brown home. ^^- ^- ^■'' ^- ^■ 

Mather, Fred. Adirondack History. (Forest & Str. v. 48:363, May 8, 

1897.) 



320 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Concerns criticism of statements made by the author in an article on Alvah 
Dimning. N. Y. P. 

Morgan, Lewis H. League of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee or Iroquois, by Lewis H. 
Morgan; A new ed., with additional matter, ed. and annotated by Herbert 
M. Lloyd. New York : Dodd, Mead & Co., 1904. 2 v. in 1, illus., pi., port., 
map. 0. 

First published 1851. 

Routes followed by the Iroquois Indians on their way through the Adirondack 
Mountains to Canada, v. 2, p. 209. 

This is a note to supplement the main text but is valuable in that it gives the 
routes known to have been used by the Indians. To quote: 

"Another road to the St. Lawrence was by the Fulton Chain of Lakes, Racquette 
and Long Lake and the Racquette River. . . . There is evidence of another 
route to Long Lake and the country beyond via Lake Pleasant, Whittaker Lake, 
a/id the Indian Lake, but whether Lake Pleasant was usually reached from the 
south or from the west does not appear." N. Y. S. 

Raymond, B., and others. Memorial of the Counties of St. Lawrence, Frank- 
lin and Clinton to the Legislature of New York, praying for an Act Author- 
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Champlain, commencing at the foot of sloop navigation of the St. Law- 
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Followed by a Memorial from the City of New York and the Abstract of the 
debate in the Assembly on the Bill Authorizing the Survey. 
Title from the Bibliography on N. Y. Canals in the suppl. to the An. Rept. 
of the State Engr. for 1905. 

Scott, William E. D. The Garden of the Saranac Lake Industrial Settle- 
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Snyder, Charles E. John Brown's Tract; An Address Delivered Before The 
Herkimer Co. Historical Society, Dec. 8, 1896. (Herkimer Co., [N. Y.] 
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History of the historic tract purchased by and named after John Brown ( 1734- 
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Van Rensselaer, Mrs. M. G. John Brown's Grave. (Garden & Forest, v. 9: 
47, Jan. 29, 1896.) 

Description of John Brown's farm and story of the movement for its preserva- 
tion as a public park. N. Y. S. 

SCIENTIFIC 

Adams, F. D., and others. Report of a special committee, General Interna- 
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Preeambrian Rocks of the Adirondack Mountains, the "Original Laurentian 
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Adirondack Gold Deposits, N. Y. (Eng. & Min. Jour., v. 68: 241, Aug. 26, 
1899.) 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 32i 

Editorial branding Boston enterprise claiming to have rich gold-bearing sands 
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Fair, H. L. Ice Erosion Theory a Fallacy. (Geol. Soc, of Amer. Bull., v. 

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Garnet Mines in the Adirondacks. (Eng. & Min. Jour., v. 68:461, illus., 
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Description taken from Verplanck Colvin's Report on the New York Adiron- 
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Gold in the Adirondacks. (Eng. & Min. Jour., v. 89: 620-21, Mar. 19, 1910.) 
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Graphite in the Adirondacks. (Eng. & Min. Jour., v. 77:844, May 26, 
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N. Y. S. 

Henry, Alfred Judson. Variation of Precipitation in Adirondack Region. 
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Hitchcock, C. H. Glacial Phenomena of the Adirondack Region. (Inde- 
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Horton, Robprt E. Adirondack Rainfall Summit. (U. S. Weather Bur. 
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X. Y. S. 

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Johnson, Edwin F. Communication from the Secretary of State, transmit- 
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324 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Contents: Report of Ed%\'in F. Johnson, Chief Engineer; Report of H. Lee, 

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Contains very valuable information concerning topography and resources of 

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Kemp, James Furman. A Brief Review of the Titaniferous Magnetites. 

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Essex Co., N. Y., p. 341-44. N. 

Kemp, James Furman. Geology of the Lake Placid Region. Albany, 

49-67 p., map. 0. (N. Y. State Museum. Bull. No. 21.) 

Map in pocket. 
Kemp, James Furman. Graphite in the Eastern Adirondacks, 

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Abstracted in Mineral Industry, 1!>0.3. v. 12: 185. N. Y. S. 

Kemp, James Furman. Illustrations of the Dynamic Metamorphism of 
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Kemp, James Furman. The Ore Deposits of the United States and Canada. 
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Chap. III. Magnetite and Pyrito; Example 12a, Tlie Adirondacks, p. IGO-IGG, 
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Kemp, James Furman. Physiography of Adirondacks. (Pop. Sci. Mo., v. 
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Contents: Geological Formations: Mountains proper and the Western Pla- 
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Kemp, James Furman. Pliysiogra])hy of the Adirondacks. (Science, n.s., 
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Reply to letter of W. M. Davis, published in same numlnT of the magazine. 

N. Y. S. 

Kemp, James Furman. Pro-camhrian Sediments in the Adirondacks. 
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Abstract of this paper is in Sci. Am. Suppl., v. 40: 20489, June 30, 1900; also 
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Kemp, James Furman. The Pre-cambrian Topography of the Adirondacks. 
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Abstract of a paper read before the Academy N. \'. S. 

Kemp, James Furman. Preliminary Report on the Geology of Essex County. 

(N. Y. State Geologist. Report, 1893 : 433-72, maps.) 
Same. 2d Report. (N. Y. State Geologist. Report, 1895:575-614, 

maps. ) 

Latter contains "a review and bibliography of the Eastern Adirondacks." 

N. Y. S. 

Kemp, James Furman. Recent progress in investigation of the Geology of 
the Adirondack Region. (Science, n.s., v. 12: 1006. Dec. 28. 1900.) 

X. Y. S. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 325 

Kemp, James Furman. Tlie Titaniferous Iron Ores of the A.lirondacks. 
(U. S. Geological Survey. lOtli Annual Report, 1897-98, pt. 3:377-422, 
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An abstract of this paper may be found in Geol. See. of Amer. Bull., v. 7: 1."), 
1895-96. ' a;' y. s! 

Kemp, James Furman, & Newland, D. H. Preliminary Report on the 
Geology of Wasbmgton, Warren and parts of Essex and Hamilton Counties. 
(N. Y. State Geologist. Report, 1897: 499-553, pi., maps.) 
A continuation of previous reports on the crystalline rocks of tlie Eastern 
Adirondacks. >t y. S. 

Kemp, James Furman, Newland, D. H., & Hill, B. F. Preliminary Report 
on the Geology of Hamilton, Warren and Washington Counties. (N. Y. 
State Geologist. Report, 1898:137-102, maps.) 

Continuation of report made by ilessrs. Kemp and Newland and found in State 
Geologist's Report of 1897. X. Y. S. 

Lindgren, Waldemar. Mineral Deposits. New York : McGraw-Hill Book 
Co., 1913. XV., 883 p., illus. 0. 
Magnetites of the Adirondacks, p. 756-57. N. Y. S. 

Maynard, George W. The Iron Ore of Lake Champlain, United States of 
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Refers to Adirondack region proper as well as to that immediately bordering 
on Lake Champlain. Includes discussion of paper. X. Y. S. 

Merchants Association of the City of New York. An Inquiry into the Con- 
ditions Relating to the Water Supply of the City of New York. [New 
York,] 1900. xxxix., 627 p., diagr., maps. 0. 

The Adirondack Mountains, p. 88-92. Also contains a special report on the 
Adirondacks as a source of supply, for full title of which see: Rafter. George 
W. N. Y. S. 

Merrill, Frederick J. H. Mineral Resources of New York State. Albany, 
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Map in pocket. 

The Adirondack Region, including the Lake Champlain mines — magnetic iron 
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Miller, William J. Early Paleozoic Physiography of the Southern Adiron- 
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Abstract of this paper is in Geol. Soc. of Ameri Bull., v. 24: 701, 191.3. 

X. Y. S. 

Miller, William J. The Garnet Deposits of Warren County, New York. 
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Describes mines of the Northwestern corner of Warren County, r<>jrion being 
part of the Eastern Adirondacks X . i . S. 

Miller, William J. The Geological History of New York State. Albany, 
1914. 130 p., illus., pi., maps. 0. (N. Y. State Museum. Bull. 168.) 
Folding of the rocks and uplift of the Adirondacks, p. 36-39. 
Faulting of the Eastern Adirondacks, p. 70-76. N. Y. S. 



326 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Miller, "William J. Geology of the North Creek Quadrangle, Warren County, 
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Map in pocket 

A careful study of the garnet district in the Southeastern corner of the Adiron- 
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Miller, William J. Ice Movement and Erosion Along the Southwestern 
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Miller, [William] J. Through Faulting In the Southern Adirondacks. 
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Mills, Frank S. The Economic Geology of Northern New York: Valuable 
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Needham, James G. The Summer Food of the Bullfrog (Rana Catesbiana 
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9-17, pi.) 

Data secured from investigations conducted on a field trip in July and 
August, 1900. N. Y. S. 

Needham, James G., & Betten, Cornelius. Aquatic Insects in the Adiron- 
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Results of a study made in the Saranae River district. N. Y. S. 

Nevius, J. Nelson. The Hadley, N. Y., Gold Mill and its History. (Eng. & 
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Reviews the early history of Adirondack mining and prospecting, going back 
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Newell, F. H. Report of Progress of Stream Measurements for the Calendar 
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New York State Streams, p. 81-85. 
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Newland, D[avid] H[ale]. Adirondack Gold Schemes. (Eng. & Min. Jour., 
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Shows extent of "boom." N. Y. S. 

Newland, D[avid] H[ale]. The Adirondack Graphite Industry. (Eng. & 
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Newland, D[avid] H[ale]. Garnet in New York. (Eng. & Mm. Jour., 
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Reviews of the garnet output of the Adirondack mines for the preceding de- 
cade. N. Y. S. 

Newland, David H[ale]. Geology of the Adirondack Magnetic Iron Ores; 
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Bibliography p. 171-72. N .Y. S 



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Describes the ores from the Lake Sanford Region of the Adirondacks. N. Y. 8. 
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1905-14. 10 V. 0. (N. Y. State Museum. Bulletins 93, 102, 112 12o' 
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Slight variations in title. 

Consult index of each number for material on Adirondack Mines and Mining 

X. Y. S. 
Newland, D[avid] H[ale]. The New York Graphite Industry in 1905. 
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Discusses graphite occurrences througliout Adirondack region. N. Y. P. 

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Newland, D[avid] H[ale], Production of Crystalline Graphite in the Adi- 
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N. \'. S. 
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Map in pocket. N. Y. S. 

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Rafter, George W. Natural and Artificial Reservoirs of the State of New 
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maps. 



328 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Rafter, George W. Water Resources of the State of New York. Parts I & 
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Devotes considerable space to Adirondack streams and lakes. For specific ref- 
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Rafter, George W. A Water Supply From the Adirondack Mountains for 
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Ries, Heinrich. Economic Geology with special reference to the United 
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Distribution of magnetites in the United States Adirondack region, New York, 
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Augites: The Adirondack Area, p. 144-55. Contains many other references 
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Roberts, B. S. Extracts from Report on the Geology and Mineralogy of 
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Adirondacks, p. 834-45. N. Y. S. 

Schofield, P. F. Forests and Rainfall. (The Popular Science Monthly, Nov., 

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in the State of New York. Albany, 1889. [v.], 70 p., map. 0. (N. Y. 

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The Adirondack Region, p. 7-10, 24-44. N. Y. S. 

Smock, John C. A Review of the Iron-Mining Industry of New York for 

the Past Decade. (Amer. Inst. Min. Engrs. Trans., v. 17:745-50, 1888- 

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Lake Champlain and Adirondack Region, p. 746—47. N. Y. S. 

Smyth, C. H., Jr. The Genetic Relations of Certain Minerals of Northern 

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Deals with "Northwestern Portion of the Adirondack area of crystalline rocks, 

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i 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 329 

Smyth, C. H., Jr. On the Genesis of the Pyrite Deposits of St. Lawrence 
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Smyth, C. H., Jr. Report on the Crystalline Rocks of St. Lawrence County 
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Smyth, C. H., Jr., & Newland, D. H. Report on Progress Made During 
1898, m Mapping the Crystallme Rocks of the Western Adirondack Region'! 
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Storage Reservoirs in the Adirondacks. (Outlook, v. 85:292-93 Feb 9 
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Editorial opposing proposed amendment to N. Y. Constitution permitting 
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Taylor, B. F. Lake Adirondack. (Amer. Geol., v. 19: 392-96, June, 1897.) 
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Tarr, Ralph S. The Pliysical Geography of New York State; with a chapter 
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Adirondack Province, p. 13-14. Tlie Adirondacks, p. 41-52. N. Y. S. 

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Title fr. Ind. Medicus. 

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N. Y. S. 

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The Adirondack District, p. 771-73. N- Y- S. 



330 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

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GAME 

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Editorial commending attempt to restock region with beaver. N. Y. V. 

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The elk, the moose, and the black bear. N. Y.P. 

The Adirondack Deer. (Forest & Str., v. 62: 105-06, Feb. 6, 1904.) 

Symposium with views of N. H. Davis, J. H. Rushton, and C. L. Parker. 

N. Y. P. 

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Editorial urging that more care be taken of the deer in winter, thus preventing 
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Comment on the Ives Case. N. Y. P. 

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First part of article is signed by J. B. B. ■♦ N. Y. P. 

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Editorial urging prohibitory law against hunting elk in certain parts of the 

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Adirondack Elk. (Forest & Str., v. 68 : 615, iUus., Apr. 20, 1907.) N. Y. P. 
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N. Y. P. 

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N. Y. P. 

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Reprinted from the "Elizabethtown Post." N. Y. P. 

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Reprinted from "Northern Tribune," Booneville, N. Y. Tells of a hunter's 
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Quotes from letters of Chief Protector Pound. N. Y. P. 

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1906.) N.Y.P. 

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N. Y. P. 



491-92, Dec. 16, 1899. 
84:3, Jan., 1915.) 
(Field & Str., V. 11 


) 
N. Y. P. 

N. Y. P. 
: 676-77, 


V. (Forest & Str., 


V. 


N. Y. P. 
67 : 736, 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 33I 

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N. Y. P. 
B. Adirondack Game. (Forest & Str., v. 53: 
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N. Y. P. 
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Adirondack hunting experience. N. Y. P. 

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Chiefly concerns the Adirondack deer. X. Y. P. 

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Contents: A Bear Mortality Theory. — Theft of a Bear. — An Adirondack Cave. 

N. Y. P. 

Burnham, John B. Panthers in the Adirondacks. (Forest & Str., v. 73: 374, 
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Burnham, John S. Adirondack Animals. (In: New York (State) Forest, 
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Part of report of Chief Game Protector showing shipments of deer from Adiron- 
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332 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Burr, C. G. A Camp Fire Yarn. (Field & Str., v. 16: 86-87, May, 1911.) 
A deer story by an Adirondack Guide. N. Y. P. 

Chahoon, George. The Adirondack Black Bear. (In: New York (St.) 

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N. Y. S. 
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Chill, M. The Last Moose Killed in New York State. (Forest & Str., v. 54: 

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Account of Moose in the Adirondacks. N. Y. P. 

Cleveland, Grover. Fishing and Shooting Sketches. (New York: Outing Pub. 

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Dodd, M[ark] Dixon. Hunting in the Adirondacks. (Forest & Str., v. 65: 

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Doll, George F. Two Adirondack Deer and How the Greenhorn of the 

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Dugmore, A. Radclyffe. The Stor>- of a Porcupine Hunt. (In His Wild 

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How a series of photographs were made in the Adirondacks. N. Y. S. 

The Essex County [G^me] Protector. (Forest & Str., v. 53:387, Nov. 11, 

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Concorning the work of Fletcher Beede in enforcing game laws. N. Y. P. 

Eurus, pseud. An Adirondack Deer Hunt. (Forest & Str., v. 49: 205, Sept. 

11,1897.) N.Y. P. 

Fletcher, J. P. In the Northern Adirondacks. (Forest & Str., v. 65: 90-91, 
^July 29, 1905.) 

A Hunting Trip. N. Y. P. 

Flint, Peter. Bears and Deer in Adirondacks. (Forest & Str., v. 83: 595-96, 

Nov. 7, 1914.) N.Y. P. 

Flint, Peter. For an Adirondack Panther Hunt; Certainly Two Big Cats 

Still Exist in a Mountain Fastness. (Forest & Str., v. 82:687-88, May 

23,1914.) N.Y. P. 

Flint, Peter. Harold Tells How the Deer Wintered in Paradox and Schroon. 
(Forest & Str., v. 83:50-51, July 11, 1914.) 

Information vouchsafed for by Harold L. Maguire, an old Adirondack Guide, 
•with a little account of his experiences. N. Y. P. 

Flint, Peter. Private Parks do not Protect Game. (Forest & Str., v. 81: 
757-58, Dee. 13, 1913.) N. Y. P. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 333 

Flint, Peter. Shantymg out for bears, deer, and grouse in Southeastern 
Adirondacks— the extermination of bucks threatened (Forest & Str v 
83: 801-02, Dec. 19, 1914.) ' n Y P 

Foster, Maximilian. American Game Preserves: The threatened extinction 
of our native game animals, and the effort to save them by establishing 
great private parks in which they are preserved and bred. (Munsev v 25'^ 
[376J-86, illus., June, 1901.) 
Xehasane Preserve [Adirondacks], p. .384-85; 
Litchfield Park [Adirondacks], p. 385-86. N Y S 

Foster, Maximilian. Where the Big Game Runs; Wilderness Where the 
Sportsman finds noble quarry within striking distance of the great cities- 
Hunting Deer in the Adirondacks, Moose and Caribou in Maine and Canada, 
and Grizzly, Elk, and Pronghorn in the Rockies. (Munsey, v. 24:[42()]-i0, 
illus., Dec, 1900.) ' N. Y. s'. 

Gale, J. Thompson. The Adirondack Deer. (Forest & Str., v. 57:66-67, 
July 27, 1901.) N.Y. P. 

Gibbs, A. D. A Trip to the Adirondacks and a Few Deductions Drawn 
Therefrom. (Field & Str., v. 11: 1031-32, Mar., 1907.) 
Hunting experiencees. N. Y. P. 

Grant, Madison. Adirondack Moose. (New York (St.) Forest, Fish and 
Game Commission. Annual Report, 1901:234-38, pi.) 
Considers also the other game animals native to the region. N. Y. S. 

Grant, Madison. The Vanishing Moose. Mag. Art. No. 12. 

Grant, Madison. Notes on Adirondack Mammals with Special Reference to 
the Fur-Bearers. (New York (St.) Forest, Fish and Game Commission. 
Annual Reports, 1902-03, 1904. p. 319-34, pi.) N. Y. S. 

Hastings, W. W. Deer Hunting Days in the Adirondacks. (Forest & Str., 
V. 52 : 302-03, illus., Apr. 22, 1899.) N. Y. P. 

Hermalin, D. M. Big Game Hunting for Poor Men ; Being a treatise on how 
a salaried man living in New York City may spend a two weeks' vacation, 
enjoy himself, and secure a deer, all for 50 dollars or less. (Forest & Str., 
V. 82:[37]-39, illus., Jan. 10, 1914.) 
Treats of Cranberry Lake region. N. i.P. 

Hermalin, D. M. Big Game Hunting in New York State. (Forest & Str., 
v. 78:236-37, illus., Feb. 24, 1912.) 
Hunting deer near Cranberry Lake. N. Y. 1 . 

Hermalin, D. M. The Last of the Monster; Being an episode about old 
and experienced hunters and a tenderfoot. . . . (Forest & Str., v. 83: 
240-41, Aug. 22, 1914.) 
A deer hunting story from the Cranberry Lake region. N. Y. P. 

Higby, J. H. Adirondack Deer and Hounds. (Forest & Str., v. 52:246, 
Apr. 1,1899.) . N.\.P. 

Higby, J. H. Adirondack Wolves. (Forest & Str., v. 48: 304-05, Apr. l7, 
1897.) 



334 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Hofer, T. E. Catching Beaver for the Adirondacks. (Forest & Str,, v. 69: 
571-73, illus., Oct. 12, 1907.) 
Also tells of their distribution among Adirondack rivers and lakes. N. Y. P. 

Homaday, William T. Our Vanishing Wild Life; Its Extermination and 

Preservation. New York: N. Y. Zoological Soc, 1913. 411 p., illus., 

maps. 0. 

The Adirondack State Park, p. 347-48. N. Y. S. 

Hudson, William Lincoln. On the Trail of Old Mike. (Field & Str., v. 13: 

405-10, illus., Sept., 1908.) 

An Adirondack Deer Story. N. Y. P. 

B., D. H. In the Adirondacks. (Forest & Str., v. 59 : 223, Sept. 20, 1902.) 

News Notes on Hunting. N. Y. P. 

In the Adirondacks. (Forest & Str., v. 54: 462, June 16, 1909.) 

Two letters — the first signed D. H. B., concerning Adirondack Moose question; 

the second on general Adirondack conditions, by Raymond S. Spears. N. Y. P. 
J., H. S. Adirondack Wolves. (Forest & Str., v. 48: 265, Apr. 3, 1897.) 

Inquiry as to presence of wolves, occasioned by an account of an encounter with 

wolves in the newspapers. N. Y. P. 

Juvenal, pseud. Adirondack Beavers. (Forest & Str., v. 73:131, July 24, 

1909, illus.) 

Short note on work of the beavers near Blue Mountain Lake. N. Y. P. 

Juvenal, pseud. Adirondack Deer and Elk. (Forest & Str., v. 63: 8-9, July 

2,1904.) N.Y.P. 

Juvenal, pseud. Adirondack Deer and Woods. (Forest & Str., v. 55:267, 

Oct. 6, 1900.) 

Concerns State policy in the Adirondacks. N. Y. P. 

Juvenal, pseud. Adirondack Deer Hunting Conditions. (Forest & Str., v. 

51:268, Oct. 1, 1898.) 

Comment on article of that title by J. B. Burnham. 
Juvenal, pseud. The Adirondack Deer Season. (Forest & Str., v. 67:614, 

Oct. 20, 1906.) N.Y.P. 

Juvenal, pseud. The Adirondack Man Killings. (Forest & Str., v. 59:350, 

Nov. 1, 1902.) 

Fatal Hunting Accidents. N. Y. P. 

Juvenal, pseud. Adirondack Notes. (Forest & Str., v. 57:446-47, Dec. 7, 

1901.) 

Suggests a new law for hunting of Adirondack deer. N. Y. P. 

Lambert, W. S. A Fox Hunt in the Adirondacks. (Forest & Str., v. 50 : 45, 

Jan. 15, 1898.) N.Y.P. 

The Last Adirondack Moose. (Forest & Str., v. 54: 405, May 26, 1900.) 

Two letters — one signed J. H. R. and other by J. L. Davison — Upon Moose in 

New York State during the late 'SO's. N. Y. P. 

The Last Adirondack Moose. (Forest & Str., v. 54:445, June 9, 1900.) 

N. Y. P. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 335 

Learned, John A. The Adirondack Deer. (Forest & Str. v 55-289 Oct 
13,1900.) ' • ^'^•'^°y' ^«. 

Commends shortening of the Season. N Y P 

Lg. Adirondack Deer. ( Forest & Str., v. 57 : 487-88, Dec. 21, 1901. ) N. Y. P. 
Lock, Cap. Adirondack Deer. (Forest & Str., v. 62:48, Jan. 16, 1904.) 

N. Y. P. 
Mayo, E. W. A September Night in the Adirondacks. (Illus American v 

20: 408-09, illus., Sept. 19, 1896.) 

Reminiscences of a deer hunt at night near Cranberry Lake. N. Y. P. 

Miller, Seaver A[sbury]. Adirondack Game Interests. (Forest & Str v 

48:249, Mar. 27, 1897.) 

Comment upon legislation. N Y P 

Motisher, Robert W. Adirondack Deer Hounding. (Forest & Str, v 62- 

67, Jan. 23, 1904.) 

In favor of a law permitting hounding. N. Y. P. 

Parkinson, Edward K. Adirondack Interests— Forests and Game on the 

Increase. (Forest & Str., v. 68: 216-17, illus., Feb. 9, 1907.) N. Y. P. 
Paulmier, Frederick C. The Squirrels and Other Rodents of the Adirondacks. 

(New York (St.) Forest, Fish and Game Commission. Annual Reports, 

1902-03.-1904. p. 335-51, pi.) N.Y.S. 

Pond, J. Warren. The Adirondack Deer Supply. (Forest & Str., v. 62: 

272-73, Apr. 2, 1904.) N. Y. P. 

Preston, Emma A. A Woman Scores on Deer. (Field & Str., v. 11: [589], 

Oct., 1906.) 

Hunting along the Fulton Chain. N. Y. P. 

Radford, Harry V. Bringing Back the Beaver: Its Successful Reintroduc- 

tion to the Adirondack Region. (Four-Track News, April, 1906, illus.) 

Mentioned by the author in Annual Report of N. Y. Forest, Fish and Game 

Commission for 1904-06, p. 394. 
Radford, Harry V. Elk in the Adirondacks. (Forest & Str., v. 66:226, 

Feb. 10,1906.) 

Tells of another offer of elk for re-stocking the Adirondack Forest. N. Y. P. 
Radford, Harry V., ed. Field and Stream— Adirondack Department, v. 6, 

no. 4, June, 1901— Aug., 1903, Nov., 1903— Mar., 1904, June & Aug., 1904. 

Illus. 

Title of department varies. It gave a great lot of general and miscellaneous 

information about Adirondack sport and legislation. N. Y. P. 

Radford, Harry V. History of the Adirondack Beaver (Castor Canadensis 

Kuhl.) ; Its Former Abundance, Practical Extermination, and Rointroduc- 

tion. (New York (St.) Forest, Fish and Game Commission. Annual Re- 
ports, 1904-06. 1907 : 389^18, pi, maps.) N. Y. S. 
Radford, Harry V. Photographing a Loon's Nest. (Field & Str., v. 6: 

284-85, illus., July, 1901.) 

Accompanied by a note on the Loon in the Adirondacks. N. Y. P. 



336 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Radford, Harry V. Restoration of King Moose. (Field & Str., v. 8:[225]- 

27, illus., July, 1903.) 

Originally published in the June, 1903, number of "Four-Track News." 

N. Y. P. 

Radford, Harry V. The Sportsman and His Guide; An address delivered 
at the Annual Banquet of the Brown's Tract Guides' Association, at Old 
Forge, N. Y., Jan. 8, 1903. (Field & Str., v. 7:[691]-94, illus., Feb., 
1903.) N.Y.P. 

Ransacker, pseud. The Wild and Woolly Adirondacks. (Forest & Str., v. 
62:146-47, Feb. 20, 1904.) 

Long-distance humorous shots a man from California makes at New Yorkers 
and the Adirondack bear question. N. Y. P. 

Redner, D. S., Jr. My First Still Hunt. (Field & Str., v. 7: 613-14, Jan., 

1903.) 

Deer Hunting near Euba Mills. N. Y. P. 

Rice, Arthur F. Adirondack Deer and the Laws. (Forest & Str., v. 51: 

287, Oct. 8, 1898.) N.Y.P. 

Rice, Arthur F. Practical Game Conservation: I. The Adirondacks. 

(Field & Str., V. 17:[741]-744, illus., Nov., 1912.) N. Y. P. 

Russell, Todd. Hunting the Adirondack Grouse. (Outing, v. 55:61-63, 

Oct., 1909.) 

Description of the forest preserve as a place for hunting. N. Y. S. 

Shaw, Joseph T. Our Adirondack Deer Hunt. (Field & Str., v. 18: 

[1183]-89, illus.. Mar., 1914. ) N. Y. P. 

Shekarry, Old, pseud. Adirondack Deer. (Forest & Str., v. 57: 512, Dec. 

28, 1901.) N. Y. P. 
Shurter, Joseph W. The Adirondack Deer. (Forest & Str., v. 55: 508, 

Dec. 29, 1900.) 

Concerns the length and time of the season for hunting deer. N. Y. P. 

Shurter, J [oseph] W. Adirondack Deer. (Forest & Str., v. 67 : 985, Dec. 22. 
1906.) 

Concerning the deer law. N. Y. P. 

Shurter, Joseph W. Adirondack Deer Hunting. (Forest & Str., v. 62: 
28, Jan. 9, 1904.) 

Followed by the statement of Peter Flint in the "Elizabethtown Post and Ga- 
zette." N. Y. P. 

Shurter, Joseph W. The Adirondack Deer Season. (Forest & Str., v. 69: 

935, Dec. 14, 1907.) 

Advises changes in laws. N. Y. P. 

Smith, Ezra G. An Adirondack Deer Hunt. (Forest and Str., v. 56:244, 

Mar. 30, 1901.) N.Y.P. 

Spears, E[ldridge] A. Adirondack Beaver. (Forest & Str., v. 60:464-65, 

June 13, 1903.) 

Tells of signs of beaver along Indian River. N. Y. P. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 337 

Spears, Eldridge A. Adirondack Game. (Forest & Str., v. 72-456 Mar 
20,1906.) N.yp: 

Spears, John R. The Adirondack Bears. (Forest & Str. v 62-2'Sl-^9 
Mar. 26, 1904.) • x o^, 

A plea for the protection of the bear in the Adirondacks. N. Y V 

Spears, Raymond S. Adirondack Conditions. (Forest & Str v 71-455-50 
Sept. 19, 1898.) v • • 

Treats of hunting prospects and of State policy toward the Adirondacks. 

N. Y. P. 

Spears, Ra>Tnond S. Adirondack Deer. (Forest & Str., v 59-467 Dec 13 
1902.) ' ■ ' 

Review of season. N Y P 

Spears, Raymond S. Adirondack Deer. (Forest & Str., v 65-370-71 Nov 

4, 1905.) 

On the supply of game. N Y P 

Spears, Raymond S. Adirondack Deer, Guides and Woodsmen. (Forest 

& Str., V. 51 : 305, 1898. ) N. Y. P. 

Spears, Raymond S. Adirondack Game. (Forest & Str., v. 71:734-35, 

Nov. 7, 1908.) N.Y.p! 

Spears, Raymond S. Adirondack Hounding. (Forest & Str., v. 52:109, Feb. 

11, 1899.) N.Y.P. 

Spears, Raymond S. Adirondack Observations. (Forest & Str., v. 70: 

496, Mar. 20, 1908.) 

Treats of the supply of game. N. Y. P. 

Spears, Raymond S. Bird Dogs in the North Woods. (Forest & Str., v. 

75:654, Oct. 22, 1910.) N.Y.P. 

Spears, Raymond S. On an Adirondack Trap Line. (Forest & Str., v. 

68: [528]"-30, illus., Apr. 6, 1907.) 

Trapping in the Adirondacks. N. Y. P. 

Spears, Raymond S. The Season in the Adirondacks. (Forest & Str., 

V. 69:776, Nov. 16,1907.) 

Review of the hunting season. N. Y, P. 

Spears, Raymond S. That Adirondack Moose — One Point of View. (For- 
est and Str., v. 55 : 425-26, Dec. 1, 1900.) N. Y. P. 
Stanton. Adirondack Deer. (Forest & Str., v. 57:471, Dec. 14, 1901.) 

Discusses the law. N. Y. P. 

Sterling, Ernest A. The Return of the Beaver to the Adirondacks. 

(Amer. Forestry, v. 19: [292J-99, illus.. May, 1913.) N. Y. S. 

Stewart, H. Wolves in the Adirondacks. (Forest & Str., v. 48:363, May 

8, 1897.) 

Accompanied by a note signed C. H. D. N. Y. . 

That Adirondack Moose. (Forest & Str., v. 55: [361], Nov. 10, 1900.) 

Editorial showing that attempt to restock Adirondack forest with moose is 

foredoomed to failure. ^- ^' ' 



338 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

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Webb, Edward L. A Three Days' Deer Hunt. (Field & Str., v. 12: [488]- 
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Near "one of the most beautiful chains of lak'es -in Northern New York." 

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Chap. XXI. Trolling in June [on Round Lake and Lake Pleasant], p. 482-91. 
Chap. XXII. A Night Hunt up the Cungamunck, p. 492-502. 
Chap. XXIII. Trouting on Jessup's River, p. 503-14. 

Chap. XXIV. Anecdotes of Moose and Deer Among Northern Lakes, p. 515-35. 

L.C. 

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Chap. 17. Wild Lakes of the Adirondack. 
Chap. 18. Trouting in Jessup's River. Title from Westwood & Satcheli 

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Also published under the titles: The Hunter Naturalist; Romance of Natural 
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Chaps. XX-XXIV, p. 472-535. concern the Adirondacks. For titles of these 
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Webber, C[harles] W[ilkins]. Wild Scenes and Wild Hunters of the 

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498, Mar. 26, 1910.) N.Y.P. 

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BIBLIOGRAPHY 339 

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A review of the season's hunt. \r v t> 

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A review of the season. K Y P 

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FISHING 

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Comment on Adirondack Fly-Fishing. N. Y. P. 

Arthur, L. W. The Fight Among the Rocks and Shadows. (Field & Str., 
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Fishing for brook trout near Long Pond. N. Y. P. 

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Fish yarn — no historical value. 

Brandreth, Paulina. In Pursut of the Rainbow. (Field & Str., v. 9: 

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An Adirondack fishing story. N. Y. P. 

Bumham, J. T. In the Adirondacks. (Field & Str., v. 11 : 388, Aug., 1906.) 

Some fishing notes. N. \. P. 

Camilla, pseud. The Veteran's Pool. (Forest & Str., v. 60:112, Feb. 7, 

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Adirondack fishing story. N. Y. P. 

Cheney, A. N. The Adirondacks in Old Days. (Forest & Str., v. 54: 

487-88, June 23, 1900.) 

Angling Reminiscences. ^- ^- ^■ 
Davis, Chas D. Fishing for Trout in the Adirondacks. (Forest & Str., 

V. 79:365, Sept. 21, 1912.) 

Fishing at Cranberry Lake. ^- ^- ^- 



340 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Davison, J. L. Big Trout in the Adirondacks. (Forest & Str., v. 63:76, 

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Davison, J. L. In the Adirondacks in 1858. (Forest & Str., v. 76: 

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Along the Racket River. N. Y. P. 

Dawson, George. Angling Talks; being the Winter talks on Summer pas- 

•times contributed to the "Forest and Stream." New York: Forest & Str. 

Pub. Co., 1883. 78 p. D. (Forest and Stream Series.) 

Contents chiefly concern angling in the Adirondack lakes and rivers. N. Y. P. 
Dodd, Mark D[ixon]. Adirondack Trout. (Forest & Str., v. 76:19-20, 

Jan. 7, 1911.) 

Particularly refers to Canachagala Creek, a tributary of Moose River. N. Y. P. 

Dominick, Geo. F., Jr. Adirondack Notes, 2 pts. (Forest & Str., v. 60: 
308, Apr. 18, 1903; v. 60: 350, May 2, 1903.) 
Notes of a Fishing Trip. N. Y. P. 

Flint, Peter. Are Game Fish Increasing in the Adirondacks, and Where? 
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Fuller, A. R. Pickerel in the Adirondacks. (In: New York (St.) Fish- 
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Glynn's, Martin H., First Trout; For a few delightful days in the Adiron- 
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Green, Charles A. From the Adirondack Mountains. (Forest & Str., v. 
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Matlier, Fred. Modem Fish Culture in Fresh and Salt Water. New York: 

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Adirondack Frost Fish, p. 208-10. L. C. 

Mather, Fred. My Angling Friends; Being a Second Series of Sketches of 
Men I Have Fished With. (New York: Forest and Str. Pub. Co., [1901]. 
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Much of the book is devoted to fishing experiences in the Adirondacks. L. C. 

Mather, Fred (Zoology.) Memoranda relating to Adirondack fishes, with 
descriptions of new species, from researches made in 1882. Albany: 
Weed, Parsons & Co., 1886. 56 p. pi. 0. A preprint. 
From the appendix to the 12th report of the Adirondack State Land Survey. A 
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Tells of a big catch in Piseco Lake. N. Y. P 



i 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 34X 

Miller, Ben. In the Adirondaeks: Experiences and Impressions of a South- 
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At Raquette Lake. ., ,, ^ 

^ Js . Y. P. 

Noi-ris, Thaddeus. The American Angler's Book: Embracing the natural 
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Northrup, A. Judd. Fishes and Fishing in the Adirondaeks from the Sports- 
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Piscator, pseud. Tenderfeet in the Adirondaeks. (Forest & Str., v. 50- 
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Richmond, W. L. An Adirondack Memory. (Field & Str., v. 13: [1082]-84, 
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Fishing along and near Moose River. N. Y. P. 

Scott, Genio C. Fishing in American Waters; New Ed. . . . New York: 
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Spears, Raymond S. Effect of Automobile and Motor Cyle on Fishing Con- 
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Spears, Raymond S. Fishing in the Adirondaeks. (Forest & Str., v. 72: 

898, June 5, 1909.) 

Review of conditions. N. Y. P. 

Spears, Raymond S. Some Adirondack Gossip. (Forest & Str., v. 70: 

981, June 20, 1908.) 

Fishing notes. N. Y. P. 

Wheeler, Arthur Leslie. Around the Sawtooth Range : Ten Days' Tramping 

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Wolcott, W. E. The Adirondack Fish Mortality. (Forest & Str., v. 61: 10, 

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Advances the theory that forest fires are the chief reason for the destruction 

N V P 

of fish in Adirondack streams. •^''- ^•^• 

Wolcott, W. E. Adirondack Fishing. (Forest & Str., v. 58: 447, June 7, 
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342 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Woleott, W. E. Adirondack Trout. (Forest & Str., v. 59:10, July 5, 
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Woleott, W. E. Adirondack Trout. (Forest & Str., v. 62:317, Apr. 16, 
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Woleott, W. E. The Adirondack Trout Season. (Forest & Str., v. 61: 
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FOREST 

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On management of the forest preserve. N. Y. P. 

Adirondack Forest Interests. (Forest & Str., v. 48: [201], Mar. 13, 1897.) 
Editorial. N. Y.P. 

The Adirondack Forest Preserve in Danger. (Outlook, v. 85:589-90, Mar. 
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Editorial. N. Y. S. 

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Boardman, William H. The Lovers of the Woods. New York: McClure, 
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Contents: Lost. — Children of the Stream. — A Man with an Ax. — ^The Two 
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Accidents. — -John's Cakes. — The Minister. — "He Came Into His 0^\^l." 
"One of the most valuable contributions to the literature of the Adirondacks 
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Bowman, Isaiah. Forest Physiography; Physiography of the United States 
and Principles of Soils in Relation to Forestry. New York: J. Wiley & 
Sons, 1911. xxii, 759 p., illus. Maps. 
Adirondack Mountains, p. 578-84. 

Contents: Geologic Structure. — Topography and Drainage. — Glacial Eflfects. — 
Climate and Forests. N. Y. S. 

Breck, Edward. The Way of the Woods; A Manual for Sportsmen in 
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436 p., illus., pi. D. 



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Brown, Elon R. The Adirondack Forests. (Forest & Sir. v 63- S41 dot 
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Defends Legislature and its Fish and Game Laws. N Y P 

Brown, George L. Fire Breaks in Essex County. (Forest & Str v 71 • 
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Urges further fire protection for the Adirondack Forests. N Y. P 

Canada, Conservation Commission, Committee on Forests. Forest Protec- 
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Part III. The Top-Lopping Law in the Adirondacks, p 60-86. 

Part IV The use of Oil as Locomotive Fuel from a Fire Protective Point of 

View: Situation in the Adirondacks, p. 96-102 L. C. 

Carl, David. The Adirondack Forest Again. (Forest & str., v 67-170-71 
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Colvin, Verplanck. Speech Delivered at the Annual Banquet of the New 
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Cook, Joel. America, Picturesque and Descriptive. Philadelphia: H. T. 
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Chap. XII. The Adirondacks and their Attendant Lakes, v. 2: 271-326. L C. 

Cornell's Adirondack Forestry. (Forest & Str., v. 57:501, Dec. 28, 1901.) 
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Donaldson, Alfred L[ee]. Forest Fires and' Their Prevention. (Outlook, 
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A review of the matter of forest fires in the Adirondacks showing their disas- 
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Femow, B[ernhard] E[duard]. Adirondack Forestry Problems. (New 
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Femow, B[ernhard] E[duard]. Adirondack Forestry Problems. (For- 
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344 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Fernow, B[ernliarcl] E[duard]. The Adirondacks. (Outlook, v. 85: 624-25, 
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Communication showing why the sporting clubs oppose the storage reservoir 
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Fernow, B[ernhard] E[duard]. Beginnings of Professional Forestry in the 
Adirondacks; [being the 1st and 2d Annual Reports of the Director of the 
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same. (N. Y. State College of Forestry. Bull. 2, Feb., 1900. 56 p.) 

Describes work at college forest at Axton, N. Y. N. Y. S. 

[Fernow, Bernhard Eduard.] Forestry in New York State. (Science, n. s. 

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Sensible treatment of question by an expert forester. N. Y. S. 

Fernow, B[ernhard] E[duard]. Progress of Forest Management in the 

Adirondacks. Ithaca, N. Y., 1901. 40 p. D. (N. Y. State College of 

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Being the 3d Annual Report of the Director of the State College of Forestry at 

Cornell University, describing particularly the work at the college forest, 

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Forestry for the New York Preserve. (Forester, v. 6:164-65, July, 1900.) 
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Fox, William F[rceman]. A History of the Lumber Industry in the State 
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Same. (New York (St.). Forest, Fish and Game Commission. An- 
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Gaylord, F. A. Forestry and Forest Resources in New York. Albany, 
1912. 58 p., pi. 0. (New York (St.). Conservation Commission. 
Bull. 1.) 
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Graves, Henry S. Practical Forestry in the Adirondacks, Washington, 1899. 
85 p., pi., maps. 0. (U. S. Forestry Div. Bulletin, No. 26.) 
"An account of the general conditions which govern forest management in 
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Hoffman, F. von. The Adirondack Forests. (Forest & Str., v. 58:189, 
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Hosmer, Ralph S., & Bruce, Eugene S. A Forest Working PInn for the 
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"A definite and comprehensive plan by which a certain part of the Adirondack 
Forest Preserve may he managed in accordance with the principles of practical 
forestry " — Introd. X y S, 

Hosmer, Ralph S., & Bruce, Eugene S. A Forest Working Plan for Town- 
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State Forest Preserve; preceded hy: A Discussion of .Conservative Lum- 
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Same. (New York (St.). Forest, Fish and Game Commission. An- 

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Hough, Franklin B[enjamin]. Address by Dr. Franklin B. Hough, on 
State Forest Management, before the Committee on the Preservation of 
the Adirondack Forests of the Chamber of Commerce of the State of 
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Hough, Franklin B[enjamin]. A Catalogue of the Indigenous, Naturalized, 
and Filicoid Plants, of Lewis County; Arranged according to the Natural 
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Hough, Franklin, B[enjamin]. Report upon Forestry Prepared under the 
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The lumber region of Northern New York; The proposed Adirondack Park; 
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N. Y. S 

Howard, William G. Forest Fires. Albany, 1914. 52 p. pi. 0. (New 
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A general bulletin 'on the subject but one containing more especial information 

applicable to the Jireat forest preserves of the Adirondack and Catskill regions. 

^ » r N.Y.S. 

Jordan, D. A. Concerning the Adirondack Forests. (Forest & Str., v. 58: 

104, Feb. 8, 1902.) ^'•^'^• 

Juvenal, pseud. Lumbering in the Adirondacks. (Forest & Str., v. 67: 

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Kirkhara, Stanton Davis. East and West: Comparative Studies of Nature 

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280 p. pi. D. 

Chap. ITI. The Wilderness, p. 42-57. 



346 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Chap. IV. Still-paddling, p. 58-70. Descriptions of Adirondack Forest and 
Lakes. N. Y.S. 

Knecbtel, A. Forest Fires in the Adirondacks. (Forestry Quar. v. 2:-2- 
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Kneehtel, A. Natural Reproduction in the Adirondack Forests. (For- 
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Leggett, Edward H. The State's Title to Lands in the Forest Preserve. 
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Review of liti,2;ation over Adirondack forest lands in the New Yorlc courts in 
1897. N. Y. S 

McCIurc, David. Speech on the Proposed Amendment to the New York 
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Includes discussion. N. Y. S. 

New York Board of Trade and Transportation. Forestry Committee. 

Memorial Addressed to Legislature of the State of New York setting fortli 

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22,1902.) N.Y. P. 

New York State Forestry Association. Bulletin, July, 1914-date, v. 1, No. 
1— [Syracuse N. Y.] 1914-date. 0. 

A quarterly magazine devoted to the "various phases of forestry activity in the 
Empire State." Chief purpose is to stimulate interest in the protection of 
the great State Forest Preserves in the Adirondacks and the Catskills. N. Y. S. 

The Nortli Woods. (Garden & Forest, v. 10: 21, Jan. 20, 1897.) 

Editorial comment upon Governor Black's message upon the Adirondacks. 

N. Y P 

Parker, Clarence L. Adirondack Forest Protection. (Forest & Str., v. 68: 
334-35, Mar. 2, 1907.) 

Tteviews recent attempts at Forest Preserve Legislation in the New York Legis- 
lature. N. Y. P. 

Peck, Charles H. Report on the Character of Forests and Soil of Certain 
Tracts of State Lands in the Adirondack Region. (In: N. Y. State Land 
Survey Report [for 1896]. 1897. p. [517] -53, this report being Sen. 
Doc, 1898, No. 54.) N. Y S. 

Pettis, C. R. Possible Advantages to the State of New York by Opening 
the Forest Preserves. (Society of Amer. Foresters. Proc, v. 8:197- 
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Reviews legislation concerning Adirondack Preserve and shows that a rigid 
construction of Constitution is not best for proper treatment of the State 
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Pinchot, Gifford. The Adirondack Spruce; A Study of the Forest in 
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BIBLIOGRAPHY 347 

conservative lumbering. New York: The Critic Co., 1898. [ix], 157 p., 

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Pincbot, Giftord. Forest Conservation in tbe Adirondacks. [New York 
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Title from caption. j^t y. p. 

Pincbot, Gifford. Pincbot on tbe Adirondack Problem. (Forest & Str., 

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Also in Field & Sir., v. 16:[949]-55, Jan., 1912, with the title: The Adirondack 

Forest Problem. 

This is a report made to the Campfire Club of America. N. Y. P. 

Pincbot, Gifford. Public or Private Interests? (Outlook, v. 100:729-31, 

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A plea for Forest Conservation in the Adirondacks. N. Y. S. 

Pincbot, Gifford. Working Plans for tbe New York Forest Preserve. (Out- 
ing, V. 36 : 89-90, Apr., 1900.) N. Y S. 
Price, Overton W. Studying tbe Adirondack Forest. (Forester, v. 6:19- 

20, Jan., 1900.) 

Account of work done on a working plan for the tract of the St. Regis Paper 

Co., situated in Franklin Co., Now Y'ork. N. Y. P. 

Price, Overton W. Working Plans for tbe State Preserve. (New York 
(St.). Fisberies, Game and Forest Commission. Annual Report, 1898: 
418-422, pi.) 

Discussion of a plan for the forest management of Township 40, Totten & Cross- 
field Purchase, then being drawn up by the U. S. Forestry Division. N. Y. S. 

[Pringle, C. G.] [Extracts from Report upon tbe Forests of Northern New 
York]. (In: U. S. Census Off. lOtb Census of tbe U. S. (1880), v. 9: 
501-06, Pub. 1884.) 

Forms part of the special report on the Forests of North America (exclusive 
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Purdy, Fred Leslie. Adirondack Fires and Preserves. (Forest & Str., v. 
72 i 14-15, Jan. 2, 1900.) ^'- Y- P. 

Reynolds, Cuyler. Forest Preservation in tbe State of New York. (New 
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New Y'ork's efforts to preserve the Adirondacks: Importance of region to the 
State and the lumber industry of the North Woods. N. Y. S. 

Save tbe Adirondacks. (Outlook, v. 81: 1053-54, Dec. 30, 1905.) 

Editorial calling attention to spoliation of the Adirondack forests by lumbering 
operations. >>. Y. fe. 

Scbwartz, G. Frederick. Tbe Adirondacks are a .Park, not a Timber Re- 
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N. Y. S. 

Sears, Jobn H. Notes on tbe Forest Trees of Essex, Clinton and Franklin 
Counties, New York. (Essex Inst., Salem, Mass. Bull., v. 13:174-88, 
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Title from a bibliography of Forestry in Annual Report of New York St. Forest 
Com'n., 1885, and from Royal Soc. Cat. Set. pap. 



348 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Shurter, Joseph W. Gamo Preserves and Adirondack Ruin. (Forest & 
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Spears, E[ldridge] A. Forest Fires in the Adirondaeks. (Forest & Str., 
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Reviews fires of season and discusses means of protection. N. Y. P. 

Spears, John R. The Destruction of the Adirondack Forests. (Forest & 
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Spears, Raymond S. Adirondack Notes. (Field & Str., v. 11 : 505-06, Sept., 
1906.) 

A criticism of the management of the Cornell College of Forestry Tract. 

N. Y. P. 

Spears, Raymond S. Adirondack Ruin. (Forest & Str., v. 60:465, June 
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Showing that the origin of some forest fires is traceable to spite against the 
holders of private preserves. N. Y. P. 

Spears, Raymond S. Adirondack Timber Thefts. (Forest & Str., v. 70: 

538, Apr. 4, 1908.) 

Comment on the conviction of Klock & Gaylord. N. Y. P. 

Spears, Raymond S. Adirondack Trails. (Forest & Str., v. 51:22-23, 

July 9, 1898.) N.Y.P. 

Spears, Raj-mond S. Prof. Fernow and the Adirondaeks. (Outlook, v. 

85 : 815-16, April 6, 1906.) 

Letter dealing with the experiments of the State College of Forestry in the 

Adirondaeks. N. Y. S. 

Sterling, E[mest] A. A Definite State Policy: New York State's Progress 
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July, 1912.) N.Y.S. 

Suter, H. M. Forest Fires in Adirondaeks in 1903. Washington, 1904. 
15 p., map. 0. (U. S. Forestry Bur. [circular 26].) 

Also published as Publication, No. 5, of the Association for the Protection of 
the Adirondaeks. N. Y. S. 

To Flood Adirondack Lands. (Forest & Str., v. 68: [87], Jan. 19, 1907.) 
Editorial showing the dangers of the water storage project. N. Y. P. 

The Water Storage Grab in New York State. (Outlook, v. 85: 867-68, Apr. 
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Editorial opposing the proposed storage reservoirs in the Adirondaeks. N. Y. S. 

Whitford, David E. Water Supply from the Adirondack Forest. (In: 
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Wolcott, W. E. The Adirondack Forest. (Forest & Str., v. 58:65, Jan. 
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Wolcott, W. E. Camps on State Lands. (Forest & Str., v. 61:223, Sept. 
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Policy of State concerning those who have erected camps on the State's Adiron- 
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BIBLIOGRAPHY 349 



MISCELLANEOUS 

Adam, Rev. Samuel F. Adirondacks. (Outlook, v. 85:625-620 Mar 16 
1907.) ■ ' 

Communication which attempts to prove that storage project would bo an 
effective means of preventing forest fires. N Y S 

Adirondack Camps. (Forest & Str., v. 70: [847], May 30, 1908.) 

Editorial. N Y P 

Adirondack Guides Association. Proceedings of annual meeting, 1894-date. 
(Forest & Str., 1894-date.) 

Meeting is held at Saranac Lake in January or February of each year. Ac- 
count of the proceedings is usually found in next issue of Forest and Stream. 

N. Y. P. 

Adirondack Land Sales. (Forest & Str., v. 65: [385], Nov. 11, 1905.) 
Editorial. j^t y. p. 

An Adirondack Night Experience. (Forest & Str., v. 51:223, Sept. 17, 

1898.) 

Still-hunting Experiences. N. Y. P. 

Adirondack Preserves. (Forest & Str., v. 53:47, July 15, 1899.) 

Describes the Rockefeller Preserves. N. Y. P. 

Adirondack Preserves. (Forest & Str., v. 60: [161], Feb. 28, 1903.) 

Editorial commending care taken of the Private Preserves. N. Y. P. 

Adirondack Rivers and Lumbermen. (Forest & Str., v. 52:464, June 17, 

1899.) 

Reprinted from the Albany Journal of June 7, l.SOO. N. Y. P. 

Adirondack State Land Sales. (Forest & Str., v. 65:388-89, Nov. 11, 

1905.) N.Y.P. 

Adirondack State Lands. (Forest & Str., v. 65 : 248, Sept. 23, 1905.) 

Three contributions. X. Y. P. 

The Adirondack Water Grab. (Field & Str., v. 11:1042, Mar., 1907.) 

Editorial. N. Y. P. 

The Adirondacks. (Forest & Str., v. 60: [181], Mar. 7, 1903.) 

Editorial showing importance of vast Summer and Autumn Tourist Business 

of the North Woods. N. Y. P. 

Aesthetic and Sanitary vs. Commercial Values. (Outlook, v. 83:401, June 

23, 1906.) 

Editorial showing that Adirondacks cannot be a storage reservoir and great 

summer resort at the same time. N. Y. S. 

Andrews, Mary R. S. "A Woman in Camp." Mag. Art. No. 13. (Outing. 

No date.) 

No historical value. 
Another Adirondack Tragedy. (Forest & Str., v. 55: [241], Sept. 29, 1900.) 

Editorial commenting on the accidental shooting of Mrs. Kerr and Dr. Bailey 

on the Tahawus Club Preserve in Essex Co. N. \ . P. 



350 BIBLIOGEAPHY 

^^rHa^ltti^rt' ""''"■ '^°'-' ^ «''■' - =«^ !261], Apr. 5, 1002, 

t/i:::\sis'rr ''''""" °' ^"'* '- •^-'- ^-""' °^ ««'- 

1865\„/ , to Jol>n Bm,v„'s grave. Dated Saranac Lake, July 27 

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"^i-t3;':;„!;"2riooi:r"" "■ "^ ^''™'=''^- '^"-^' * «''■-"««'' 

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"w::^;.f.t..NXooftrrr' " '"^ ^^'™-»- -'=- 

'o*24?i0^8.,^"'-""""""'^ '--'■ <^°-' * «'^- >■• ^^-^S. iL! 

'mur:i'*7,*i807'; ^*™°'''^ '™'"'"- <'"-■ '^-''-". ^- 2':i83; 

Describes Adirondack camp life. 
't Moi) °™^ '° "" ^•'■'°"''='^^- <^"-' * S'-. V. 67:21l!''I„g; 

Account of ascent of several of the great peak, of the Adirondack, 
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Reprinted from "Town Topics." 
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Upon the storage project. v v t> 

Covert, Byron V. Three Weeks in the Adirondaeks. (Forest & Str v 
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Cruikshank, James A. Looping the Adirondaeks. (Field & Str v 7- 
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Dix, William Frederick. Summer Life in Luxurious Adirondack Camps. 
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Description of some of the more elaborate summer homes and camps in the 
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Dobson, B. A. "Come Again in Hunting Time"; A Novice's First Trip 

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Humorous account of a tenderfoot's experience aroimd Cranberry Lake. 

N. Y. P. 
Dyer, Walter A. Camping in the Adirondaeks. (Country Life in America, 

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Experiences in camp at upper end of Long Lake. N. Y. S. 

Eaton, Elon Howard. Birds of New York. Albany, 1910-14. 2 v., illus., 

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The Mt. Marcy Region, v. 1, p. 42-50. N. Y. S. 

Ellis, Harvey. An Adirondack Camp. (Craftsman, v. 4:281-84, illus., 

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Working plans and specifications for an ideal summer home in the Adirondaeks. 

N. Y. S. 

Fences in the Adirondaeks. (Forest & Str., v. 61: 7, July 4, 1903.) 

Two contributions, one signed "Didymus" and other by Raymond S. Spears, 

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[Ferris, George Titus, comp]. Our Native Land; or, Glances at American 

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Eagle, Paradox, Pyramid Lakes and surrounding country. N. Y. P. 



352 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Flint, Peter. Uncle Oliver and the Moose; An Adirondack Story. (For- 
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A story of the year 1845. N. Y. P. 

Fouquet, L. M. Lake Champlain, Lake George; The Adirondacks, Lake 
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Great North Woods. (World's Work, v. 4: 2390-94, illus., Aug., 1902.) 
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Hands Off the Adirondacks. (Forest & Str., v. 77: 844, Dec. 9, 1911.) 
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Harte, W. B. "By Stage-Coaeh in the Adirondacks." Mag. Art. 13. 

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Howland, Harold J. A Winter Tramp in the North Woods. (Outlook, v. 
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Snowshoe Journey through Indian and Avalanche passes. K. Y. S. 

Hubbard, Leonidas, Jr. Afoot in Nature's Game Preserve, the Adirondack 
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Trip through heart of the Adirondack Country and a short history of the estab- 
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Hughes, Charles E[vans]. Conservation of Natural Resources in the State 
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N. Y. S. 

Huntington, Adelaide. A Walking Trip Through the Adirondacks: How 
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From Blue Mountain Lake Village to Lake George. N. Y. S. 

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Ives, H. L. Some Adirondack Preserves. (Forest & Str., v. 50:406, May 
21, 1898.) 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 353 

Short history of the following game preserves: Vanderbilt Preserve- Vilas 
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A very thorough survey of the scenic grandeur of the region as well as of its 
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Johnson, Clifton. Highways and Byways from the St. Lawrence to Vir- 
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Johnson, Clifton. New England and Its Neighbors. New York : Macmillan, 
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Chap. IV, In the Adirondacks, p. 70-105. A summer trip into the Adiron- 
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State lands problem and general conditions. N. Y. P. 

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Juvenal, pseud. Adirondack Notes, (Forest & Str., v, 60:483, June 20, 

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At Minerva, Essex Co. N. Y. P. 

Kellogg, Alice M. Luxurious Adirondack Camps. (New Broadway Mag., 

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Description of the various attractive features of the Great North Woods 

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LaFarge, C. Grant. A Winter Ascent of Tahawus, (Outing, v. 36: [69]- 

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Account of a trip to the summit of Mt. Marcy during the blizzard of Feb., 1809. 

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Langdon, Palmer H. Climbing Mount Marcy. (Forest & Str., v. 75: 

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Levick, James J. The Adirondacks. (Phila. Med. Times, v. 11:813-17, 

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354 BIBLIOGEAPHY 

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Miller, Seaver Asbury. Sporting Clubs in the Adirondacks. (Outing, v. 32: 

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Describes some of the largest Clubs and their Preserves within the Adirondacks. 

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Mills, Borden H. By Paddle and Portage. (Countrj^ Life in Amer., v. 15: 
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Ormsbee, Alexander F. Another Winter Ascent of Mount Marcy. (Ap- 
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Trip from Westport, N. Y., by sleigh and snowshoes in Feb., 1910. N. Y. S. 

Pach, Alfred. A Horseback Vacation in the Adirondacks. (Country Life 

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Mt. Marcy experiences. N. Y. S. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 355 

Pauncefote, Maud. Adirondaeks, U. S. (Lady's Realm, v. 12: 65(>-59, illus., 
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Compares Adirondaeks to similar resorts abroad. Criticizes hotel accommoda- 
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Peek, Charles H. Plants of North Elba, Essex County, N. Y. Albany, 1899. 

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Along the Saranac Lakes. rs.Y. P. 

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Observations made on a camping trip. 



N.Y . P. 



356 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

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Spears, John R. When the Snow Falls in the Adirondacks. (Scribner's 

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Description of an Adirondack snowstorm and of the appearance of the region 

after the snow. N. Y. S. 

Spears, Raymond S. Adirondack Camp Troubles. (Forest & Str., v. 70: 

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Tells of depredations made by camp thieves. N. Y. P. 

S])ears, Raymond S. Adirondack News and Observations. (Forest & Str., 

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Spears, Raymond S. The Adirondack Park. (Forest & Str., v. 64:315, 

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Concerns the boundaries of the park. N. Y. P. 

Spears, Raymond S. Adirondack Place Names. (Forest & Str., v. 56:403, 

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Spears, RajTnond S. Adirondack Ruin. (Forest & Str., v. 52:464, June 

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Spears, Raymond S. Adirondack State Lands. (Forest & Str., v. 65: 

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Spears, Raymond S. Adirondack State Lands. (Forest & Str., v. 65: 

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Spears, Raymond S. The Little Known of the Adirondacks. (Field & Str., 

v. 12 : [204J-06, July, 1907.) N. Y. P. 

Spears, Raymond S. Selling Adirondack State Lands. (Forest & Str., v. 

65 : 187-88, Sept. 22, 1905.) N. Y. P. 

Spears, Raymond S. That Boy in the Adirondacks. (Forest & Str., v. 51: 

210-11, Sept. 10, 1898. ) N. Y. P. 

Spears, Raymond S. Winter Camping in the Adirondacks. (Country Life 

in America, v. 15: 272-73, 294, 296, illus., Jan., 1909.) 

Suggestions to campers after a "try" by the author. Describes conditions 

camper must count on meeting. N. Y. S. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 357 

Sterling, E[rnest] A. Adirondack Birds in Their Relation to Forestry 
(Forestry Quar., v. l:[18]-25, Oct., 1902.) L.C. 

[Sweetser, Moses Foster], Ed. The Middle States: A Handbook for Travel- 
lers ; A guide to the chief cities and popular resorts of the Middle States 
. . . [Centennial Ed.] Boston: J. R. Osgood Co., 1876. xvi., 469, 16 p.' 
maps, plan. S. ' ' 

First edition published in 1874. The Adirondack Mountains, p, 133-58. 

L. C. 

Switch Reel, Pseud. One Day in the Adirondacks: A Jud Smith Stor>' 
(Forest & Str., v. 84 : 86-87, illus., Feb., 1915.) N. Y. P. 

Switch Reel, Pseud. Women in Camp. (Forest & Str., v. 82: 575-76 illus 
May 2, 1914.) 
Story of an Adirondack camping trip. j^ y p^ 

Thees, Oscar D. Camp Bill Cody: How Dad and the Girls Enjoyed a Pleas- 
ant Camping- Trip. (Field & Str., v. 12:[212]-16, illus., July, 1907.) 
Thirteenth Lake House, Hour Brook, and Hour Pond. N. Y. P. 

Thompson, H. H. Adirondack Nomenclature. (Field & Str., v. 10:286-87, 
July, 1905.) N.Y.P. 

To Save the Adirondacks. (Eng. & Min. Jour., v. 49 : 566, May 17, 1890.) 
Short notice of organization of the Association for the Preservation of the 
Adirondacks. N. Y. S. 

Trumbull, Mrs. E. E. A Vsit to Ausable Chasm. (Guide to Nature, v. 4: 
28-30, illus.. May, 1911.) N. Y. S. 

v., F. P. Lost in the Woods. (Forest & Str., v. 66: 12, Jan. 6, 1906.) 
Cites several instances of persons being lost in the great North Woods. 

N. Y. P. 

Van Vorst, Marie. The Indian Trail. (Harper's Bazar, v. 42:653-58, 
744-48, illus., July- Aug., 1908.) 

Trip along Indian Trail between Lake Placid and Lake Henderson by a woman 
reporter who was assigned to write of the source of the Hudson River. N. Y. S. 

A Visit to the States: A reprint of letters from the Special Correspondent 
•of the Times. Series 1-2. London : G. E. Wright, 1887-88. 2 v. T. 
Chap. 40. The Hudson River, v. 2, p. 83-87. Treats of the Adirondacks, the 
source of the River. N- Y. S. 

Wack, Henry Wellington. Kamp Kill Kare, the Adirondack Home of Hon. 
Timothy L. Woodruff. (Field & Str., v. 7 : [651] -61, illus., pi., Feb., 1903.) 

N. Y. P. 

Wells, Lewis A. A January Ascent of Mount Marcy. (Appalachia, v. 11: 
340-43, June, 1908.) ^- Y- S- 

Whitaker, E. S. Adirondack Tours. (Forest & Str., v. 57:452-53, Dec, 
7, 190L) N.Y.P. 

Whitaker, E. S. Adirondack Tours. Parts 1-3. (Forest & Str., v. 69: 
[8] -9, 48-49, 88-89, July 6, 13, & 20, 1907.) N. Y. P. 



358 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Wilcox, James Foster. Cranberry Lake, New York and the Western Adiron- 
dack Region. [Cranbeny Lake, N. Y.:] Cranberry Lake Motor Boat 
Club, 1915. 64 p., illus., port. obi. T. 
A descriptive booklet. N. Y. S. 

Williams, A. P. The Adirondacks in Summer : A Game Protector's Trip 
Through the Forests of Herkimer and St. Lawrence Counties. (Field & 
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Williams, Asa S. The Lost Lake of the Adirondacks. (Field & Str., v. 8: 
[190]-91, illus., July, 1903.) N. Y. P. 

Wise, Daniel, D.D. Summer Daj^s on the Hudson: The story of a pleasant 
tour from Sandy Hook to the Saranac Lakes, including incidents of travel, 
legends, historical anecdotes, sketches of scenery, etc. New York: Nelson 
& Phillips, 1876. 288 p., illus. pi. D. 

Chap. XV. From Lake George to the Peak of Tahawus, p. 24(>-63. 
Chap. XVI. From Tahawus to the end of the tour, p. 264-88. L. C. 

Woodcliuck, Pseud. Conditions in the Adirondacks. (Forest & Str., v. 
76 : 658, 677-78, Apr. 29, 1911. ) N. Y. P. 



ASSEMBLY AND SENATE DOCUMENTS 

New York (St.) Assembly. Report of the Standing Committee on Canals 
and Internal Improvements on the Memorial of the Counties of St. Law- 
rence, Franklin, and Clinton, praying for an Act, Authorizing a Survey of 
the Route of a Canal to Connect Lakes Ontario and Champlain. (Assem- 
bly Jour., 1824:804-808.) 

A favorable report upon the proposed canal from Plattsburgh to Ogdensburgh, 
which was to pass through the North Woods. N. Y. S. 

New York (St.) Assembly. Report of the Select Committee, Relative to the 
Survey of the Sacondaga, Schroon, and the middle branch of the Hudson 
River. 3 p. (Assembly Doc, 1831, No. 248.) N. Y. S. 

New York (St.) Assembly. Report of the Committee on Railroads on the 
petition of inhabitants of the counties of St. Lawrence, Franklin, Clinton 
and Essex, in relation to the Ogdensburgh and Lake Champlain Railroad. 
15 p. (Assembly Doc, 1839, No. 233.) 

Includes Statement of Messrs. Hopkins, Piatt and Duane, which tells of the 
great natural resources of region from which the proposed road would draw 
revenue. N. Y. S. 

New York (St.) Assembly. Report of the Select Committee on the Petitions 
of the Inhabitants of Essex, Franklin and Warren Counties [for an Appro- 
priation for the Improvement of the Saranac River and Lakes]. 4 p. 
(Assembly Doc. 1851, No. 94.) N Y. S. 

New York (St.) Assembly. Report of the Select Committee on the Improve- 
ment of the St. Regis River. 2 p. (Assembly Doc, 1856, No 112.) 
Committee concludes "that it would do much towards developing tlie natural 
wealth of this wilderness, which is always advantageous to the State." N. Y. S. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 359 

New York (St.) Assembly. "Report of the Select Committee on Petitions 
for the Improvement of Raquette and Moose Rivers. 32 p. (Assembly 
Doc, 1850, No. 68.) 

The appendices, A to I, are quotations from previous reports and surveys show- 
ing the immense natural wealth of this region. N. Y. B. 

New York (St.) Assembly. Report of the Committee on Commerce and 
Navigation, Relative to the Improvement of Beaver River. 4 p. (Assem- 
bly Doc, 1860, No. 91.) 

Enumerates appropriations for other rivers of Northeastern New York from 
18.50 to 1857. X. Y. S. 

New York (St.) Assembly, Report presented by Mr. Rogers, of Seneca, to 
the Committee on Agriculture, and adopted ... as a reply to a resolution 
. . . passed February 1, 1883, in regard to the preservation of the forests 
of the State. 7 p. (Assembly Doc, 1883, No. 130.) 

Sets forth the great value of the Adirondack forests in regulating the flow of 
the Hudson and other streams. X. \\ S. 

New York (St.) Assembly. Report of the Special Committee to Investigate 
Matters Connected with the State Surveys. 10 p. (Assembly Doc. 1885, 
No. 137.) 

Chiefly concerned with the Adirondack Survey, conducted by Verplanck Colvin. 

X. Y. S. 

New York (St.) Assembly. In the Matter of the Inquiry Concerning the 
Administration of the Laws in Relation to the Forest Preserve by the 
Forest Commission, etc.; Report Adopted by the Assembly, April 23, 
1891. Albany, 1891. 7 p. 0. 
Not published in the collected documents. N. Y. S. 

New York (St.) Assembly. Reports of the Majority and Minority of the 
Committee on Public Lands and Forestry, relative to the Administration 
of the Laws in Relation to the Forest Preserve by the Forest Commission. 
12, 615 p. (Assembly Doc, 1891, No. 81 ) N. Y. S. 

New York (St.) Assembly. Report of the Standing Committee on Public 
Lands and Forestry of the Assembly of 1891, Relative to the Investigation 
of the Adirondack' Lands and Tax Sales. 189 p. (Assembly Doc, 1895, 
No. 38.) ^^-Y-S. 

New York (St.) Assembly. Report and Testimony of the Special Committee 
Appointed to Investigate the Depredations of Timber in the Forest Pre- 
serve, 1895. 922 p. (Assembly Doc, 1896, No. 67.) 

Report of the Special Committee Appointed to Investigate the Depre- 
dations of Timber in the Forest Preserve, 1895 [without the testimony]. 
31 p. (Assembly Doc, 1896, No. 60.) ^'- Y- »■ 

New York (St.) Assembly. Report of the Special Committee of the Assem- 
bly Appointed to Continue the Investigation as to what Lands should be 
Acquired within the Forest Preserve in Order to Protect the Watersheds 
therein. 39 p. (Assembly Doc, 1898, No. 55.) N. Y. S. 



360 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

New York (St.) Assembly. Report of the Special Committee Appointed 
to Investigate as to certain matters pertaining to the State Park and Forest 
Preserve. 14 p. (Assembly Doc, 1900, No. C3.) 

Concerns boundaries of the park and the observance of the Game and Forest 
Laws. N. Y. S. 

New York (St.) Assembly. Report of the Special Committee of the Assem- 
bly Appointed to Investigate as to certain matters pertaining to the State 
Park and Forest Preserve. 14 p. (Assembly Doc, 1902, No. 50.) 
Matters investigated were the advisability of the Proposed Amendment to the 
Constitution allowing cutting and sale of Timber in the Forest Preserve, legis- 
lation for further forest protection and the observance of Forest and Game 
Laws. N.Y.S. 

New York (St.) Assembly. Report of the Adirondack Committee, Assembly 
of 1902. 19 p. (Assembly Doc, 1903, No. 4G.) N. Y. S. 

New York (St.) Assembly. Report of tlie Special Committee of the Assem- 
bly on the Adirondacks. 11 p. (Assembly Doc, 1904, No. (iO.) N. Y S. 

New York (St.) Assembly. Report of the Adirondack Committee of the 
Assembly of 1904. 20 p. (Assembly Doc, 1905, No. 31.) N. Y. S. 

New York (St.) Assembly. Report of the Adirondack Committee of the 
Assembly of 1905. 13 p. (Assembly Doc, 190C, No. 57.) N. Y. S. 

New York (St.) Canal Board. Report of the Canal Board relating to the 
Continuation of the Survey of the Northern Branches of the Hudson River, 
in obedience to a resolution of the Assembly, of March 24th, 1840. 3 p. 
(Assembly Doc, 1840, No. 275.) " N. Y. S. 

New York (St.) Canal Board. Report of the Canal Board, . . . relating to 
the Survey of the several branches of the Hudson River, transmitting the 
report and estimates of the engineer, with a communication . . . from the 
Surveyor-general. 35 p. (Sen. Doc, 1840, No. 61.) 

Contents: Report of the Surveyor-general ... in relation to the public lands, 
etc. [of Hi'rkimer, Hamilton, Warren, Essex, Clinton, and Franklin Counties] ; 
Report of George E. Hoffman, Chief Engineer, in respect to the survey of the 
Upper Hudson. 

The purpose of the former report is to "make the Legislature, and the public 
generally, more adequately acquainted with the real extent and value of the 
large section of the State ... as little known as the secluded valleys of the 
Eocky Mountains, or the burning plains of Central Africa." Tlie latter is 
chiefly technical but Mr. Hoffman gives his observations concerning the re- 
sources of region. He says: 

"So little is known of that region, that no estimate can be made of its value 
. . . but I have but little doubt that correct information . . would show that 
few routes are of more importance than this, or would be more profitable to the 
State." N. Y. S. 

New York (St.) Canal Commissioners. Communication on the Survey of a 
Route for a Canal from the St. Lawrence River to Lake Champlain. 36 p. 
(Assembly Doc, 1825, No. 183.) 

Title from Bibliography on N. Y. Canals in the Suppl. to the An. Rept. of the 
State Engr., for 1905. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 36i 

New York (St.) Commissioners on Proposed Railroad from Ogdensbur-h 
to Lake Cliamplain. Report of the Commissioners Appointed to cause°a 
survey to be made of the several routes for a railroad from Ogdensburgli 
to Lake Cbamplain. 115 p., fold. map. (Assembly Doc., 1841, No. 43.)° 
Contains the following appended documents: 

A Report of Edward H. Broadhead. Chief Engineer for the survey of a railroad 
from Ogdensburgli to Lake Champlain. 

With this report are submitted the reports of the following division engineers— 
W. R. Casey. VV. B. Gilbert, John S. Stoddard, and A. \V. Harrison. 
B. Roberts, B, S. Extracts from report on the geology and mineralogy of parts 
of Franklin and Clinton Counties, contiguous to the proposed railroad. N. Y. S. 

New York (St.) Commissioners to Build Road from Cedar Point, Essex 
Co., Westward to Black River. Report of the Commissioners Appointed 
. . . April 21st, 1828, to lay out and open a road from Cedar Point, 
westward through the towns of Moriah and Neweomb, in the County of 
Essex ... to the Black River opposite the Village of Lowville in the 
County of Lewis. (In : Assembly Jour., 1829 : 452-57.) 

"The commissioners felicitate themselves in thinking that they have succeeded 
... in finding a good route for a road across that extensive forest — the dis- 
tance being 72 miles ... on line of the road." 

Much of the report is taken up by: "Remarks on the character of the adjacent 
lands." N. Y. S 

New York (St.) State Engineer and Surveyor. Reply of State Engineer 
and Surveyor to Resolutions filed by the Superintendent of the Adiron- 
dack Survey. 2, Ip. (Assembly Docs., 1885, Nos. 73 & 74.) N.Y. S. 

New York (St.) Senate. Report of the Committee on Rail-roads on the 
Petitions for the Construction of the Ogdensburgh and Champlain Rail- 
road by the State. 12 p. (Sen. Doc, 1840, No. 44.) 

The committee expresses belief that the road should be built, "because it will 
open up to our capitalists the richest and most extensive mineral region prob- 
ably on this continent." N. Y. S. 

New York (St.) Senate. Report of the Select Committee on the Improve- 
ment of the Navigation of Raquette River. 4 p. (Sen. Doc, 1854, No. 
24.) N.Y.S. 

New York (St.) Senate. Report of the Special Committee on State Lands, 
in the Adirondack Region. 35 p. (Sen. Doc, 1884, No. 23.) 
The appendix to this report is: Report of the Superintendent of the Adirondack 
Survey on the Public Lands in the Adirondacks. N. Y. S. 

New York (St.) Senate Report of the Finance Committee on the Alleged 
Misconduct of the Forest Commission. 48 p. (Sen. Doc, 1887, No. 73.) 
Investigation resulting from alleged mismanagement of Adirondack State forest 
lands. Chief question seemed to be the commission's conduct of the suit against 
Hurd & Hotchkiss for cutting timber off Forest Preserve in Macomb's Pur- 
chase, Franklin Co. 

New York (St.) Senate. Report of the Special Committee of the Senate 
on the Future Policy of the State in Relation to the Adirondacks and 
Forest Preservation. 14 p., fold. map. (Sen. Doc, 1904, No. 28.) 

N. Y. o. 



i 



362 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Now York (St.) Senate. Report of the Special Conunittce of the Senate 
on (lie Poliey of the State in Kehition to the Adirondaeks for Forest Preser- 
vation, and the Shellfish Industry. 9 p. (Sen. Doc., 1909, No. 37.) 

N. Y. S. 

PUBLIC TAPERS OF VARIOUS GOVERNORS 

New York (St.). Governor (Black). Forests. (In his Public Papers, 
1897-98:19-21. 227-32.) 
Chiefly concerning the Adirondaeks. N. Y. S. 

New York (St.) Governor (Cleveland). The Adirondack Wilderness; The 
Adirondack Survey. (In his Public Papers, 1884 : 48-52.) N. Y. S. 

New York (St.). Governor (Cornell). The Adirondack Survey; The Nortli- 
em Wilderness. (In his Public Papers, 1882:42-44.) N. Y. S. 

New York (St.). Governor (Flower). The Adirondack Park. (In his 
Piiblic Papers, 1894 : 35-39.) N. Y. S. 

New York (St.). Governor (Flower). Communication from the Governor 
calling the attention of the Legislature to Senate Bill No. 846, relating 
to the maintenance of the Adirondack Park, April 11, 1894. 3 p. (Assem- 
bly Doc, 1894, No. ()2.) N. Y. S. 

New York (St.). Governor ( Flower). Communication from the Governor 
relative to the Preservation of the State's Forest Preserve. 3 p. (Assem- 
bly Doc. 1893, No. 79.) N. Y. S. 

New York (St.). Governor (Flower). Memorandum tiled with Assembly 
Hill No. 1422. to Estiiblisii the Adirondack Park. Approved. (In his 
Public Papers, 1892 : 189-91. ) N. Y. S. 

New York (St.). Governor (Flower). Veto. Assembly Bill No. 1001, 
Making Appropriation for the State Land Survey. (In his Public Papers, 
1894: 188-9L) 
Gives a brief history of the Adirondack Survey. N. Y. S. 

New York (State). Governor (Flower). Veto. Senate Bill No. 8(51, To 
Amend the Penal Code, relating to Tax Sales of Ailirondack Lands. (In 
his Public Papers, 1894 : 369-71. ) N. Y. S. 

New York (St.). Governor (Fliggins). Message to the Legislature concern- 
ing the State's Forest Preserve. (In his Public Papers, 1905:47-52.) 

N. Y. S. 

New York (St.). Governor (Hill). Communication from the Governor 
relative to the Use of State Lands in the "Adirondaeks" for Park Purposes. 
2 p. (Sen. Doc, 1890, No. 29; Assemldy Doc, 1890. No. 85.) N. Y. S. 

New York (St.). Governor (TIill). Message Kecommending the Creation 
of a State Park in the Adirondack Region. (In his Public Papers. 1890: 
50-52.) N Y.S. 

New York (St.). Governor (Iloflman). Veto of the Governor on the Bill 
entitled "An Act to Facilitate the Construction of the Railroad of the 



l5IP>hI()GRAiMIY 



"v'.o; 



Adin.n.liick ( '(.tnpariy, .-iiid ils Kxicrision to I lie walcrH ol' Mm; St. I.iiw 

rcticc K'lvci." (i p. (y\ssciril)ly Doc, 1K70, Ni>. 1207.) N.Y. M. 

New Vntk (SI.). (iov.riHM- ( I Iiij^'Iich). TIic K„rcsl, I'lc.scrvf. (In IiIh 

I'uhlic r;ip.i-s, I!)|(); l!l 22.) N, y. s. 

New York (SI.), (iovcriior (llu^^luw). Forest iVcscrvcH :iri(l (limw I.hwh. 

(In Ins I'lil.lic I'lipcns, 190H : 3.1-3:3.) N.Y.M, 

New Voik (SI), (iovcrtior (Morion). Stnlo ForcHt and (liinic IVuHcrvcH; 

SI Ml.' I;;irid Survey. (In Ins I'lildic, Papers, lH!)(i:31 3(i.) N. Y. K. 

New York (SI.), ({overnor (O.leji). Cornell S<-liool of l''oreslry; KorcHt 

I'nwrve. ( In Ins I'nl.iie l';ipern, 1904 : 35- IH. ) N Y. S. 

New York (St.). (iovernor (Odell). The Forest PrcHerve. (In Inn I'uMio. 

I 'a pcrH, 1002:14-10.) N. Y.S. 



INDEX 



Note: The author wishes to make special acknowledgment here to Mr. F. W. O. Werry 
of Saranac Lake, for his valuable coUaboration in compiling this index. " 



Abel, Oliver, I, 379 

Abel, WilUam J., I, 379 

"Aboriginal Occupation of New York." quoted, 
I, 28 

"Aboriginal Place Names," quoted, I, 11; II, 
161 

Act, creating Park, 1 , 4 ; amendatory, 4 ; concern- 
ing Old Military Roads, II, 123, 127, 129; con- 
cerning Adirondack Railroads, 131, 132, 133, 
134, 135; concerning action for State Park, 
169; prohibiting sale of State lands, 172; 
concerning fire prevention, 178; permitting 
sale of lands, 180; authorizing purchase of 
lands, 182; establishing the Adirondack Park, 
183; Section 1 quoted, 183; giving power to 
sell timber, 184; defining Forest Preserve, 
185; defining Adirondack Park, 185; permit- 
ting timber operations, 186; appointing com- 
mittee of Nine, 200; creating College of 
Forestry, 202; defining "blue line," 216; for 
better fire protection, 216; to destroy build- 
ings on State lands, 217; the Fuller Law, 223; 
for new fire control system, 225; Conservation 
Law, 234; Conservation Law revised, 235; 
Top-lopping law, 226, 236. 240; defining Park, 
236; placing Saratoga Springs under Con- 
servation Commission, 245; Machold Law, 
245; allowing does to be killed, 253; " Buck 
Law," 253,254 

Addison Junction, I, 149 

Adgate's Tract, I, 81 

Adirondac ("deserted village"), I, 140 

Adirondack, 

Park defined and described, I, 4; Park and 
Preserve differentiated, 5; Preserve acreage, 
4 

Adirondack Camp and Trail Club, II, 24 

Adirondack Club, 

forerunner of Tahawus Club, I, 148; list of 
incorporators and original members, 148; see 
Philosophers' Camp 

Adirondack Co., The (R. R.), buys Adirondack 
Iron Works, I, 147 

Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium, 

founding and development of, I, 256; list of 
Superintendents and Resident Physicians, 
footnote, 257; Training School for Nurses, 
footnote, 257; Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of, 
258; change of name, footnote, 258;Trudeau 
School of Tuberculosis, footnote, 258; me- 
morial statue of Dr. Trudeau unveiled, foot- 
note, 258; letter of Mrs. Goss describing site 
of, in pre-Trudeau days, 271-272 

"Adirondack Days," II. 84 

Adirondack guide-boat, the, II. 79 

Adirondack Guides, The Last of the Great, II, 
116 

" Adirondack" Harry, see Radford 

Adirondack Iron Works, The, 
location of, I, 136; Watson's History of Essex 
Count V quoted, 136-137; starting and aban- 
donment of Elba Iron Works, 137 ; story of 
Indian and iron dam, 137-138; lands pur- 
chased for, 138, Mr. Henderson's lost Journal, 
139; the Dornburgh pamphlet concerning, 
139; founders of, 141; Mr. Henderson made 
manager of, 141; preparations to make steel, 
141-142; Lower Works built and abandoned, 



,141-142; growth of Upper Works, 142; the 
Mclntyre Bank," 143; Mr. Henderson's 
death, 144; its effect on, 146-147; hopes of 
railroad connections with, 1 47 ; abandonment 
?V^ > ' acquired by the Adirondack Co., 
147; leased to the Adirondack Club (now the 
Tahawus Club), 148; possible revival of iron 
mdustry, 149 

Adirondack League Club, The, 

location, II, 159; objects, 159; charter mem- 
bers, 159;buysland, 160;dues, 161;givesaid 
to Forest Protection, 210 

Adirondack Library, I, 239 

Adirondack Lodge, I, 165; 

location of, II, 23; built by van Hoevenberg, 
23; IS bought by Lake Placid Club, 24; Mr. 
van Hoevenberg becomes superintendent, 24; 
destroyed by fire, 24, 214 

Adirondack Mountain Reserve Club, II. 49 

"Adirondack" Murray, see Murray, William 

Adirondack National Bank, I, 236 

Adirondack Park, 

sentiment in favor of, II, 182; Association 
created, 182; description of in State Report 
for i8qi , 183 ; created, act quoted, 183 ;defini- 
tion altered, 185. 236 

Adirondack Pass (Indian Pass), II. 164 

Adirondack Railroad from Saratoga to North 
Creek, II. 90 

Adirondack Railway Company, seeks grant over 
State lands, II, 196 

Adirondack Survey, II, 164-167 

Adirondacks, 

geographical description of, 1,3; early names 
of, 3; accepted boundaries of. 3; definite 
boundaries set by State. 3 ; synonymous with 
Adirondack Park, 5; discovered by Cham- 
plain, 8; meaning of, 34; Sylvester quoted, 
34; Jesuit Relations quoted, 35; Prince 
quoted, 35; first application of. 36; first and 
second gubernatorial mention. II. 171 

"Adirondacks as a Health Resort, The," by 
Dr. Stickler, referred to, I, 266 

"Adirondacs, The," Ralph Waldo Emerson, 
II, 271-280 

Adler, Dr. Felix, II, 45 

Adler, Isaac, II. 45 

"Adventures in the Wilderness," 

"Adirondack" Murray's book. I, 193; dis- 
cussed. 192. 196; quoted, 193, 196 

Aeroplane, first in woods. II, 296 

Agassiz, Louis, at the "Philosophers' Camp," 
I, 179 

Agricultural Experimental Station, II. 200 

Agricultural Society, Annual Report of, quoted 
as to Brown's cattle. II. 5 

Albany Lake (Nehasane Lake), I, 135 

Aldrich, Charles, I, 289 

Aldrich, Thomas Bailey, 

taken to Saranac Lake by son'sillness, 1.289; 
a letter quoted , 289 ; builds in Highland Park. 
290; his literary doings, 290; leaves Saranac 
Lake, 291 , , . • 

Aleck (Old), old Indian who knew of lead mme, 

Alexander, Jabez D., built Algonquin Hotel, I, 



366 



INDEX 



Alexander, Robert C, II. 159 

Algonquin, 

Indians guided Champlain. I, 9; tribe. 37; 
mountain, 37; Hotel, location and history, 
37-38 

Allen, Anson, his bear story, II, 36 

Allen, Frederick P., II, 36 

Allen, Henry, 1,353.357 

Allen House, the, 1,357 

" Allen's Bear Fight up in Keene," II, 36. 37 

Alstead Hill, II, 30 

Alton, Dr., I, 378 _ _ 

Alvord, Thomas G., introduces act, II, 169 

Amendment, Constitutional, see Section 7, 
Article VII 

"American Scenic and Historical Preservation 
Society Report, ipiS," quoted as to Alex. 
Macomb, I, 64 

Ames, Moses S., I, 348 

Ames, Moses (Mrs.), I, 348 

Ampersand (Lake, Mountain, Brook, Hotel), 
derivations discussed, I, 38-39; Van Dyke 
quoted, 39; Hotel burned,40; property sold, 40 

Ampersand Pond, bought for "Philosophers' 
Camp," I, 187 

Anderson, A. A. (Mrs.), I, 254 

Anderson, Jeremiah G.,II, 20 

Angerstein, John Julius, 

once controlled John Brown's Tract, I, 94; 
his paintings made nucleus of National 
Gallery, London, 94 

"AnnalsofTryonCounty"(Campbell's), referred 
to, I, 16 

Anson Blake Tract, II, 159 

Anthony, Captain Nicholas N., II, 64 

Anthony, Theophilus, II, 63 

Anthony Ponds, II, 63 

" Antlers," The, II, 95, 96 

Apgar camp, II, 94 

Appropriation, 

first, for purchase of State lands, II. 172; for 
expenses of Forest Commission, 178; first 
direct, 182; for land purchases vetoed by Gov. 
Odell, 209; for Forest Nursery, 209; for land 
purchases. 221; list of, 255 

Arbutus Lake, II. 93 

Armstrong, Mr. C. R., I, 257 

Armstrong, C. R. (Mrs.), I, 257 

Arnold, Edwin, I, 127 

Arnold, Otis, 

moves into HerreshofT Manor, I, 123; Lady 
Amelia Murray quoted as to "Arnold's," 
124-125; Headley quoted. 126; remarkable 
horsemanship of daughters, 126; shooting 
of James Short, 127; the suicide of. 127; 
house reopened by son, Edwin, 127; house 
finally burns. 127; description of "Arnold's" 
by Thorpe. 131-132 

Arthurborough Tract, I. 81 

Association for the Protection of the Adiron- 
dacks. The, 
organization of, II, 210; purposes, 210; 
incorporation, 212; trustees elected, 211; 
Committee on legislation appointed, 211; 
permanent watcher sent to Albany. 211; up- 
holds Constitutional Amendment, 212; 
encourages more land purchases, 212; First 
Annual Meeting of, 212; Harry Radford's 
suggestion. 212; trees and newspapers. 212; 
helps to defeat Lewis Grab Bill, 213; investi- 
gates surrender of State's titles, 214; works 
for better fire protection, 216; investigates 
lumber thefts, 217; results of investigation, 
218; forces resignation of Middleton and 
Pond. 218; investigates flooding by Paul 
Smith's Co.. 220; restores penalty for top- 
lopping, 240; president Howland dies, 240; 
fights Merritt-Q'Neil resolution, 222; John 
G. Agar elected president. 240 

Association for Restoring Moose to the Adiron- 
dacks, I, 205 

Association of Residents on Upper Saranac 
Lake, II. 206 

Atkinson, Edwin C, I. 380 



Atkinson, H. C, I., 380 

Ausable, derivation of. I, 40 

Ausable Chasm, discovered by Gilliland, I, 18, 
20; 167 

Ausable Club, II, 48 

Ausable Forks, I, 335, 338, 340, 341, 342 

Ausable Lake and Mountain Club, II, 49 

Ausable Lakes, I, 167 

Ausable River, I, 167 

Austin, H. LeRoy, succeeds Whipple, II, 232 

"Autobiography, An," by E. L. Trudeau, re- 
ferred to, I. 243 

"Autobiographyof a Journalist," quoted, I, 174, 
176 

Automobile, first in woods, II, 296 

Avacal, early name for Northern New York, 
I, 11 

Avalanche Lake, I, 162, 163 

Avery, S., I. 347 

Avery, Willis, I, 118 

Averyville, I. 347 

Alton, II, 203 

Babcock, Francis G., II, 185, 195, 196 

Baker, Andrew J., 

son of Col. Milote, I, 223; his birth and career 
as guide, 226; built house that Stevenson 
occupied. 226; his wife and children, 226; 278 

Baker, Andrew J. (Mrs.), I, 348 

Baker, Bertha (Mrs. J. H. Vincent), I. 226 

Baker, Blanche, I, 226 

Baker, Clara, I. 226 

Baker, Col. Milote, 

builds famous hotel in Saranac Lake, I, 223; 
notable guests at hotel, 223; his birth and 
early career, 223; his two wives and children, 
223; his characteristics, 224; establishes first 
store and post-oflBce in Saranac Lake, 224; 
his brother Hillel, the cobbler, 225; his death, 
225; his hotel closed forever, 225; his son 
Andrew J., 225 

Baker, Emma, I, 223 

Baker, Grace, I, 226 

Baker, Hillel, brother of Col. Milote, I, 225 

Baker, Julia, I, 218, 223 

Baker, Narcissa, I, 217. 223 

Baker, Raymond, T. (Mrs.), II, 93 

Baker Bridge, 1,217. 218, 223 

Baker's Hotel, I. 223 

Bakewell, Professor C. M., II, 52 

Baldwin, Dr. E. R., I. 238. 254 

Baldwin, Ernest H., I, 238 

Baldwin, George W., I, 353 

Baldwin School, I, 238 

Balfour, quoted as to R. L. S. and Italy. I, 284 

Balfour's Life of Stevenson, referred to and 
quoted, I. 273 

"Balsams,The,"I,379 

Bandmann (the actor), I. 287 

Bank of Lake Placid, the, I, 375 

BarnumPond, II. 127. 249 

"Barque of Camp Pine Knot," the, II, 93 

Barret, Walter, his Old Merchants of New York 
City referred to. I, 66 

Barse, Mills W., II. 159 

Bartlett.E.B.,!. 379 

Bartlett, O. J., 1,347 

Bartlett, Virgil C, 

buys land and builds hotel, I, 311 ; his birth 
and death, 312; his appearance and charac- 
teristics, 312; story of the new cutter, 313; 
his treatment of hired help. 313; fond of 
animals and children, 314; adopts children, 
314 

BarUett, Virgil C. (Mrs.), 

her good table. I. 314; fine qualities, 315 

"Bartlett's," I. 292, 307; location, 311; de- 
stroyed by fire, 317 

Bartlett's Carry, I, 311 

Barton, Thomas M., II. 89 

Basedow, Johann Bernhard, I, 104 

Basselin, Theodore B., II. 178 

Baxter Farm, the, II, 45 

Bay Pond, see Rockefeller, William 



INDEX 



367 



Ifat' KK&^'e. L. Trudeau). I. 246. 

249,259 
®"nuoteTek^y"names for Lake Champlain. I, 

?? auited 21; his Aboriginal OccupaUon of 

Nam« 0/ N«^ I'or/^, 34; quoted. 46. 50; 
Beauregard, General, II. 39 

tion reviewed 247 
Beaver Lake, I. 99. 132 
Beaver River Club, 1. 135 

Beede, Allen, II. 32 
Beede,Ama,II.32.48 
Beede,Almon,II 32 
Beede, David, II. 32 
Beede, Edward, II, Sj^ 
Beede, Orlando 11.49 
Beede, Orrin, 11,32 



Beede, urriu, XX, ^- 
Beede, P^'P^* t't^i'o^V 

mentof Mt. Marqy, 154 
Benedict, Professor G. W., II. 75 
Benham,John,.II. 126 

100- had many friends, lOU 
Bennett, Ed., II, 95 
Bennett, Margaret.il. yo 
Bennett's Pond (Mirror Lake), 1, ^«> 
llS?on,Na%'hanie'lS.,hisfl«*o.y o/ Herkimer 

Cowniy quoted. I. 9^ 

Berry, CarroU, L 380. 381 
Bettner, James, I. ^bi 
«^SsTA«j|ar.;iTl79,reprinted.l80 
Biddlecome, Mr., II, 31- -i^ 

«|thdrawin.SUte lands from sale. I^^^^^^^ 
s^d7trrciU^^lf6;^iea^ing a^mendment fa^^^^ 

ST,' ^r!-'Amos?^aJ' t'he ' -Philosophers' 
Bir?s?^ai'ro#ck 11.291-296 
Bisby Club, II. 159 
liSl'^u^ci^da^r-ied John Cheney. I. 170 

Birck&\!r3i4"33r338.340.344 

Black River, II, loS 
Blagden, Thomas. !■ -^^9 
Blanchard, Charhe, II. 95 
Blood, Arvilla E., I.^-i-i. ^ • 
Blood, George, 1.^^^ 225; buys land and 
Blood. Orlando, Jv^tg" 233; sells lot to Lucius 
^;l^ns%'33ropens hofefWith famous ball. 

Blood, Pascal, 1.233 
Blood,Ryland,I.23.J 



Blood's Hotel (Saranac Lake), 

now Riverside Inn, I. 233; built by John J. 
Miller. 233; sold to Orlando Blood. 2d.J. 
leased to Charles H. Kendall. 234 ; subleased 
to George A. Berkeley. 234; shooUnR of 
George A. Berkeley. 234; willed to Wal ace 
Murray, 235; sold to Pine & Corbett, 23o 

Bloodville, I. 232 

Bloomingdale, I, 269. 270 

" Trboundkry of Park, 1.3; counties within. 4; 
relation to Forest Preserve of ,5; why moun- 
tains iut beyond. 5; 338; 341. 343. 35.5; !!...<!», 
132. 133. 143, 152; origin of. 181 ; act defining. 

Blue Mountain House, the, II. 102 

Blue Mountain Lake, II. 100 

BiSe Mountain Lake Hotel the II, 101 

loard of Health (Saranac Lake) I, 240 

Board of Trade (Saranac Lake), I, 240 

^"first steamboat, I, 306; first light guide-boats 

called "Willie Allen's egg-shells, 306, 

-Captain Clough's Shell." 308 

^°^u'^flaVd?in'^Northern New York. I, 86; 

builds hunting lodge on Lake Bonaparte. 86 
Bonaparte Lake, I, 86 
^TuggS by Gov.Hughes. II 233;carried at 

referendum.. 244; first bonds issued. 244. 

Bo^n^y.^Sli^Lo^ufs^e-fo^otn^ 

r^rii^GutS footnote, I, 258; 288 
Boston, Joseph, a. 41 



Boyer,Henry W..I1, 19* 



of the mountains, 3o0 
l-re: ?mr Srs^ K^' H:^naia3on), 

footnote, I, 350 
Bradford, Gamaliel, I, 378 

i;'.:',;SS.'wi4f «/ "■"■ """•"■ '■ " 
i;L°i';ffi?4"A if ^""•"'"-'•"■"* 

Brewster, Byron T-, 1^ i» „ 
Brewster. Harriett C., I. 34y 
Brewster, Martin W.' I |53 
Brewster Thomas, I. 348^^^^^^.^ 
Brewster's Hotel ^J'^lg^^^ ,„cation of, 351; it^ 
^p"r^speX 3^2; chanl^s hands, 3.53; burned 

Bridle; Llion-dollar, II, 138 

Irinlhurst. Rev. Dr 11.18 

Broadwel . J. A.j^I. 219 ^^jerred to. I. 12 

Brodhead's History, e^ . 

dence, I. 93 
Brown. Chad. 1. »» 



368 



INDEX 



Brown, Charles, I, 234 
Brown, Dr. Lawrason, I, 257 
Brown, Frederick, II 7 s 

^'de7ce,^r9l''9r °' ^^^^ ^^^^ °^ ^-vi- 
°'t^.' l"*"* (of Osawatomie), compared with 

r/^r? 7 th^' „ -^^l,^' «turns to North Elba, 
f giel' to' V/nTa^r"^ IXtf fn'tTe""^]^' 
slavery struggle, 7:'0s;4tomieLht 7^-°rp' 
turns to North Elba. 1S57 7 the 7^,0 in 

North Elba 11; execution of ?f"'' ^'""^ 
remains northward 7 2 ,"<: h ^2: JO"rney of 
Elba, I2;funerrrday 12 Rev t""1^*^°'"*^ 
officiates, 12- service 16 'r?^^' J°^^"a y°ung 

Brown, John fMrs.) Tl 9 '12 n If ?i'°"' ^^ 

Brown. John (of Providence)' 

lT8^4?4,"'b\U°'^2^°-" °f Osawatomie, 

Ir^wi^frf^Jt '^^ '^-tif 93?-'5-|/^rn* 
^'r^ce-^^rsl'' '^°''^" °^ J°^" Brown of Provi- 
^"rn^ce'Tll-ri"'''^^ °' J^*^" S-- °^ P^vi- 
^'p^vidS^'f •89'^°*''^^ °^ J°^" Brown of 
^'de^ce^l'l^' ""'^'^ °^ J°^" Brown of Pro vi- 
Brown, Oliver, II, .3, 8 ''I 
Brown, Oliver (Mrs.), l!, 10, 16 
iro^' ^sln;" H^'^^v, "'^"^>' Thompson 

P^vide^nc^I ql"^'^*" °^ J-'h" B^°-n of 
Brown, Tom, I, 3.34 

Brown University, I, 90 
Bruce, G. T..II, .35 
Bruce, Joseph, II. .33, 44 
S''""^'' Marc Isambard, I, 84 
Buck Island. I, 376, .380 
Buck Law, 

RnTvlir^'''^'."' 253; re-enacted, 264 
Buck Mountain Point. II 7fi 
Buffalo Bill (William C. Cody), II 120 
Bnlf T°^M°° State lands destroyed. 11. 217 

Lak^e f 237^fn7rn^H"' ^'J'^''^^^ '" Saranac 
Bunceroelney n 43"''' "' telephones, 237 

^ Ti"m 'im '*iff*^''"f •? ^"°t Carroll Judson), 
ti'J' } • ^■^■^'' ^^*s '°'^o the lime-light US- 
begins to write. 118; enters the Ad ir^ndacks 
119; enlists in Civil War. 119- works fo; 
Temperance. 120; goes to CatsMIs 120- 



Bushnell, Rev. Horace II 34 4.: ko 
Bushnell Falls, II 45 ' ' *' ^^' ^^ 
2""^^^"k Falls ("Phantom") I iqq 
Byron-Curtiss. A. L., his N^^t /oL^'dlcussed. 

Calamity Pond, I, 146 

^1n^?he'?oSLT.r H^lVr^^^ ^^^'-^ °^ P°-^^V 

&p%^^l7kiT,T,t8g^°^'^-«-^ 
Camp Beautiful, the, II, 92 
Ca'i^Wetn'ot "^ "PWlosophers' Camp " 

^ do'Jra'n^'re';L"cl^d,%t ro?'°^'- "' ^^i torn 
Camp sites, leasing of, II'. 183 
C«^"\^ .T'i'* ^"'" footnote I. 321 
Campbell, Archibald, surveyor I W 7fi 
Camps, the first artistic iTgl' ' ' ^ 

••r»„'"S^ 's Camps^,, II. 92 

w's^de^t°h"rol?°"*-- — t of Rad- 

CaSnon!'^^"' ^"'^'*" '*'''^' ^''°^^'^' ^^ ^2 

at Witaington, I, 344; old English ruins. II. 

Canton, II, 135 

Cart-wheel, John Brown's, II 5 

^Yf,'2^0 ^^^^°' ^"'"''' ^'^'^ce^ds Colonel Fox, 
'' Castle Rustico," I 377 
Castorland, I. 82. 84. 85 
Catherine, Lake, II loi 
Catskill, Preserve. I. 4- II 177 

'"dS'l.*?5°4"^'' *° '"^^ ''^■-^- tl^- Adiron- 

rhL'/j^'-^°''oB™«''»'s prize, II. 5. 6 

Chalmers Stephen, sketch of ckreer and Arii 
rondack writings, I, 291 ^'^'' 

Chamber of Commerce (New Yarb) toi 
.nteres.tinPorest.il, 172 ^°'^'' ^^^'"^ 

cnamplam. Lake. I, 8 9 11 

Champlain, Samuel de, ' 

discoverer of Adirondacks, I. 8; third visit to 
Anienca. 8; hears of inland sea. 8; the voya^^e 
resu'lf g'^h'"''' ^- ^^^' ^''^ Iroquiis 8-9f?he 

cpi^fn>'"ISrR!l:.^!74%°-"-- ^-^0 

lT?7.5 "'^^ G..appoints'Forest Committee. 

Ch^iVf^^^n S*"*^y' A." n. 54 
Charlotte County, 



on Sauthier's map. x, 14; named after daugh- 
li. 14; what it included. 15- 



ning. 121 ; poetry, 122 
Burd Amendment, 

23q"ifr^f;K V^^^= '^^Pgpf- 238; vote at polls 

Bu.?/^^gi°m^^t.\^T2°73'^^'" "' '^ 
Bn"''rro^;?:'9^4"'=^^^'^ ^"^°'- P""'^' "• 218 

®T'^ f ' ^u^^ ^i ^^^ ^°'^ State," earliest 
mapto show Mt. Marcy, I, I55 '^^'^'lest 

Burt, William G., I. 332 
Bushnell, Alric Mann. I, 216 
Bushnell, Lois E., I, 217 



ter of George III' 

11!%*'^*'' ''""^" guide-boats at Long Lake. 
Chase, David, I 119 
ChtL'an^s^-pTe^r^"- ^"'^''^^"'^ ^-^ '' ^'^ 

dfath S&s""'''*^"'* '^^ ^^"^ '^°^^- ^- 82. 83; 
Chassanis 'Tract, The 

te^r°" °/- I' 82; Hough's History of 
l^eu'ts County referred to, 82; Sylvester^ 

ge^%dt!,.i^L^^-^^i^fS 

|tYorl^-82-C^-:io^,lW%?v-a?tl£S 
^^=;ha?^iol!S^?^i-^e/^'g 
Hough quoted, 84; Desjarfinsand Pha'roux 
fc°?L^^l"*!i ^x? *° America. 84; joined by 
85 tro„h?'^^"^^BruneI. 84; first settlers on^ 
85, troubles and wrangles, 85; Gouverneur 
Morns takes control of, 85; developments on 
lar'crJ^te"'^ ^'^^' ^^' '^^^rter expires. 85 
teay^1<^S=.*8°5 ''"^'^ ^°-^-"- 



INDEX 



369 



Cheney, Hon. Albert E.. AdirondackRailroads. 

II. 135 
Cheney, Jot^'. . x, ,. Bumppo, I, 123, 143, 
TirtltlAll^l 168. 169. 170; his early 
;= ifi7 Chas F. HoSman quoted as to, 
Til T T Head ey quoted as to, 168; two 
'■° ' -^i i^wntures of 168-169; compared 
;^?hNafFostl" 169 employed by Adiror. 
dack Iron Works, 170; marriage and death 
of 170 letter about his pistol quoted, 170 
Laiiian quoted as to, 171; game record of , 
171; II. 54,87, 112 
Cheney Pond, I, 169 

illlWr', jusdcl quoted as to Cornell College 
.. ^ift"" Pe7k Hous°'(Saranac Lake), I, 308 
'''f^^lf^■T.'s^slif^l:n. 85; his proposal, 85; 

faith rewarded, 86 
Choate,Ho.n. Joseph H., toprovement 

?o"mmfssi?n.T5T6;f°a\orsl894 Amendment 
190; opposes flooding, 2^1 
Chub River, I. 346. 347 
Chufifart. Capt. F. E.. I, 245 
Church, Frederick E., I. 173 
Clark, Roger P., H. 231 
Clearwater, II, 140 
grwtHtnS^Tri/^givts deed of John Brown 

farm to State. 197 
Clifford, Reuben, 1,357 „.q_24i 

S!ro'.V&orPe*«o".%-!n?oV„ and Co,. 

field matter, 1,58 
Clough, Mark, I. 332 
Cluett, Walter H., I, 240 
Coaches, the four and s-^ horse. II, 
Coats, Hon. H. P., I. 235 
CoIbath,Hosea,I,251 
Colburn, Mace, I. 251 
Cold River, II, 77 

Colden, David C, j-^^ ^^ 
Colden, Lake, I. 146, 155, IW 

Colden, Mt., I. 136 

Cole, Alpheus, II, 43 

Cole, Colonel Ashley W., U, lo 

Cole,JospehF., I. \o6 

Coleman, Samuel, II, 4cS 

and Washington II, 14' 
gK^'fir^ew- fames, father of Verplanck 

Colvin, II, 166 j^at R. L. S. 

Colvin. Sir Sidney quoted as to w 

wrote in Saranac Lake, i, ^' 
Colvin, Verplanck, ^ I_ i54; dis- 

his measurement of Mt^ y^^^ quoted as 

^°Tu^,n^;"r ^"a^^! 162; sketch of career, II, 
164-167 
Commission, ^, .or 216; see Forest, 

River Improvement, "• l°^''.'Forest Fish and 
Fisheries, Game and Fpi^f^^ 'p^rk ; State Park 
Game ■, Conservation ; State ra 

Committee, . „,.=„„ te II, 172; of Forestry 
of Senate to if^^^^i^ate^^^^o ^^S^.appoint- 
of Chamber of Comjuerce, J -^ 5 Sargeant 
ed by Comptroller Chapin ^^ ^ ^ment 

175; report of Sargean^c-^t „ 



jort of Sargeant, 1/0, ^pp 
Martin, 176; report of E.^^^^^ 



of E. P: Martin, !'«= -^^B^^d of Trade and 
176; i8q3. ^.'"'^^'l^' ill; Brooklyn Con- 
Transportation F^'^^^onstitutional Amend- 
?^e^n1^^t^^ofNi-• appointed. 200; .ssues 



Committee on Legislation, II, 211 

" Compagnie de New York, La," see Chassanis 

Tract 
Compton, Alfred G., II. 89 
Comstock, Peter, I. 322, 335, 336 
Congress of Physicians and Surgeons, I, 26.i 
Conservation Commission, 

created, II. 234; of three members, Zi.-y, 
division and powers of, 235; made single 
headed, 242; George D. Pratt appointed, 242; 
changes in Conservation Law. 241; educa- 
tional propaganda. 242; squatter Problcn. 
solved, 243; Saratoga Springs placed under. 
245; education by lectures and pictures, A)U, 
news articles, 250; The Conservaliontsl.2.A; 
personal contact. 252; films and slides. ^52, 
future struggle. 255 , , , 

Conservation Law, II, 234; changes urged by 

Whitman, 241 
Constable, James, I, 66 
Constable, Town of, I, 66 

"Tet'll^ofTi^'H?^,' I, 66; his part in Macomb 
Purchase. 67; sells land to Chassanis, 8^ 

Constable Point, 11-96 

Constable's Towns, I, 66 

Constableville, I, 66 Q^^tjnn 7 

Constitutional Amendment, see Section <. 
Article VII 

Constitutional Convention, , 

the first, iS04. H, 189; the second, ,9:5. 243 

Convention (Constitutional), II, 189 

Cook, Fred, I. 331.334 

Coop4r, George C, I, 254, 280 

Ho^etfesL^fcarl^of' I, 22, 23; built Rustic 

ComeCGovernor. refers to Adirondacks in 

message, II. 171 
Cornell College of Forestry, g g 

g'cC.^d.i'ii/sre^isrvri.s.HWo,. 

Cornell University. II. 202 

Cornwall bridge, U. >^» . ,. Wilderness, !■ 

Couchsachrage, a name for the wua 

Col'n'titf irFoTett"p?:-vl'l.4; in Park or 

Co';ril^r0.1':.^ Sweeney Carry fight, I, 48 

Cox, Townsend, 11, Ub 
Crawford's, II. 41. 4b 
Cronin. Mike guide. I, 156 
Cusick. David, quoted, 1, ^i 

gSSlSifc.tiw Co.. Ml.... B.to. .. 

Dartmouth, Earl of. I, 56 

Dauphin, mystery of lost, L 73 

Davidson, Professor Thomas .^. ^^^^, 

dISS%?=1!:^-— 

Davil, BamettH., advice works as a boomer- 

Davli; Robin °eT2y'''' 
Dawson, George, I, ^^=1 

Day. ChanceUor, I. 3bo jq 

Dean. Amos, pamphlet, ii."f. 

Decker's School. Mrs .I.^S.^t^tion ^^^■,, 

Dedications, m the Trudea" ^r 



Dedications, m ,'-"^; '."— j 286 

of Stevenson s works l^f» j^_ gOO 
Deer, h°«"^'f civage I 300, 301 
Delavan, Dr. J. savage, 



370 



INDEX 



Dennison, Mr., I, 233 

Derby, Ed., I, 318 

Derby, George, I. 331 

Deserted Village, The (Adirondac), I, 140 

Desjardins, Simon, agent for Chassanis Tract, 
I, 84 

Dettweiler, Dr., I, 255 

Dewey, Melvil, see Lake Placid Club 

Dexter, Henry, II, 143 

Dexter, Orlando P., 

a student-recluse, II, 142; large estate of. 142; 
is murdered, 143 

Dexter Lake, II, 142 

Diana, Town of, I, 86 

Dibble, Norman, II, 34 

Dibble, Orion, II, 35 

Dibble Street, in Prescott. I. 53 

" Dibble's " (the Tahawus House), II, 48 

Directors, wealthy Board of, Raquette Lake 
Railroad, II, 141 

Dismal Wilderness, defined, I, 12 

"Disturnell's Gazetteer," contains first mention 
of Mt. Marcy, I, 154 

Dix, Gov. John A., suggests Conservation 
Commission, II. 234 

Dixon, Joseph (" Graphite"), I, 142 

Dix's Peak, I, 136 

Does, 

killing of, permitted, II, 253; killing of, for- 
bidden, 254 

Donaldson, Alfred L., I, 236 

Dornburgh, Charlotte A. (Mrs. George L. 
Washburne), I, 139, 140 

Dornburgh, Henry, author of Why the Wilder- 
ness is called Adirondack, I, 139; sketch of 
his life, 139-140 

Dornburgh, Robert, I. 140 

Dornburgh, William H., I, 140 

Drid (Peter Waters), Indian killed by Nat 
Foster. I, 119 

Ducey, Patrick A., 

first to saw down trees. II, 144; his mill at 
Brandon. 144; offers land to Paul &nith. 144; 
sells to William Rockefeller, 144 

Duddingston Loch, I, 282 

Dunham, Misses, II. 44 

Dunlap, Miss, I, 184 

Dunmore, Gov., I. 55 

Dunning, Alvah, 

guide. II, 105; appearance of. 106; boyhood, 
107; a proud moment. 108; the last moose, 
109; his seclusion, 110; the hunter. 111; leaves 
camp, 114; goes West, 115; death, 116 

Dunning, Dr. W. B., quoted as to Steve Martin, 
I, 309 

Dunning, E. J. (Mrs.), quoted, I, 312 

Dunning Camp, I, 308 

Durant, Charles, II, 94, 113 

Durant, Dr. Thomas C, 

his railroad career, II. 90; builder of Adiron- 
dack Railroad. 133. 135 

Durant, Frederick G., II. 103 

Durant, Thomas (Mrs.), II. 114 

Durant, William West, 

buys much land, 11.91; builds artistic camps, 
91; his Ulowana yacht, 91; loses law-suit. 91; 
Camps Beautiful. 92; introduces coaches, 94; 
establishes river boats. 94; founds many 
churches. 94. 107. 121, 133 

Duryea, Colonel, II, 104 

Duryea, Rev. Dr. Joseph, 

chaplain of Civil War. II. 77; friend of 
Lincoln, 78; addresses Congress, 78; saves 
Princeton. 78; camps at Long Lake, 78 

Duryee, George V. W., I, 239 

Duryee & Co., I, 239 

Eagle Lake, II, 100, 102 
"Eagle's Nest," II. 120 
Early, maps and names of Lake Champlain, 

I, 11 
Early health-seekers, I. 267 
"Early Years of the Saturday Club," referred 

to, I. 181; quoted. 183 
East Lake, I. 376 



Eaton, Amasa M., his paper' on the "Gasp6eV 
referred to, I, 92 

Eaton, Chas. M., former owner of Ampersand 
Hotel. I. 40 

" Echo Lodge," I. 378 

Eckford, Henry, II, 100 

Eckford Chain, I, 124; II, 93, 100 

Edgar, Edward C, first "sitter-out" in Saranac 
Lake, I, 267 

" Edgewood Inn, The," footnote, I, 304 

Editorial from " New York Times," II. 280- 
282 

Educational propaganda, 

by lectures and pictures. II, 251 ; news 
articles. 250; films and slides, 252; The Con- 
servationist, 251 

"Edward Jessup and His Descendants," re- 
ferred to, I. 53 

Edwards, A. F., railroad engineer, II, 133 

Ehrich, Louis, I, 280 

Elba Iron Works, I, 137, 346 

Elizabethtown, I. 18, 20. 333 

Elk, Whitney-Radford attempt to restore, I. 
207; II. 210, 244. 245 

Elks (New York State), Order of, 

liberate elks, II. 244; discourage the wearing 
of elk teeth, 245 

Elliot, Dr. Daniel Giiand, I, 145 

Ellis, Loring, I, 268 

Ellis, Susan, I, 268 

Elm, at Keene Valley, II, 30 

Ely's map, W. W., I, 340 

Emerson, Dr. Edward W., 

his Early Years of the Saturday Club referred 
to, I, 181; quoted. 183; letter of. giving key 
to Stillman's painting, 186-187 

Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 
at the " Philosophers' Camp," 1, 178; his note- 
book sketches quoted, 179; The Adiron- 
dacks. II, 271-280 

Emmons, Ebenezer, 

namer of the Adirondacks, I, 36; sketch of 
his life, 36-37j quoted as to naming of Mt. 
Marcy, 152; l)is measurement of Mt. Marcy. 
154; quoted as to Long Lake, II, 65; his 
Geological Survey, 170 

Emmons Mountain, II, 101 

Epps, Lyman, II, 19 

Epps family, the, II, 17, 18 

Erie Canal, II, 131 

Essex County, part in "blue line," I, 4 

Estes,B. B., II, 33 

Estes,Otis, II, 31, 33 

Estes, Uncle Joe, saw slide on Whitefacc. I. 49 

Estes House, II. 48 

" Etching as a Diversion," II. 116 

" Etiology of Tuberculosis," I. 253 

Evans, Lucius, I. 232, 233 

Evans Cottage, I. 267 

Excelsior House, The (The Sterens House), 
I, 354 

Fairchild, Mrs. Jane Hopkins, I. 240 

Fairview Camp, II, 95 

Falk, Miss Fanny, II, 44 

Farm, John Brown's, 

location of, II, 3; is taken over by State. 17; 
signatories of the deed. 18; the iqi6 tablet at, 
18; last drama and ceremony at, 22 

Farrington, John H., I. 2.32 

" Father Kent," a familiar Keene figure. II. 47 

Faust, II. 140 

Featherston, George, I. 341 

Featherstonhaugh, Dr. Thomas, writes to Miss 
McClolIan, II, 20 

Feldspar Brook, I. 163 

Fenton, Orrin, I. 132. 133 

Ferguson, Mose, I, 357 

Fern Lake, I, 355 

Fernow, Dr. B. E., 

training and writings. II, 202; called to Col- 
lege of Forestry, 202; his methods assailed. 
206; goes to Toronto University. 203; 
Adirondack Forestry Problems, 200; Begin- 
nings of Professional Forestry in the Adiron- 



INDEX 



371 



Fernow, Dr. B. E. — Continued 

docks, 201; Economics of Forestry, 202; His- 
tory of Forestry in all Countries, 202 

Ferris, Jacob, builds first sawmill, II, 155 

Field, Miss Kate, II, 17 

Field, Mrs. Salisbury, I. 289 

"Field and Stream," I, 208 

Films and slides, used by Conservation Com- 
mission, II, 252 

Finnegan, Katherine, I, 219 

Fire Finaer (Osborne), II, 226 

Fire-places, see Open 

Fire Prevention, 

first act concerning, II, 178; first efficient 
system inaugurated, 225 ;obseTvationstations 
and other improvements, 226 

Fires, see Forest fires 

First, 

liorses in Saranac Lake. I, 297; Rifle Club in 
Saranac Lake, 302; trees cut down by saw, 
II, 144; aeroplane in Adirondacks, 296; elec- 
tric lights in Adirondacks, 296; automobile, 
296 

First Bisley Lake, II, 160 

First Pond, II, 63 

Fischer, Professor George P., II, 45 

Fish House, II, 129 

Fisheries, Game, and Forest Commission, 
created, II, 196; members of, 196; began issu- 
ing expensive reports with colored plates, 
197; name changed to Forest, Fish and Game 
Commission, 207 

" Fishing Tourist, The," quoted as to Franklin 
Falls.7, 337 

Fiske, Professor, II, 45 

Fitch, John, 11,41,43, 45 

Flanders, " Cone," II, 5 

Flanders, Martin P., I, 356 

Flanders, Miss Frances J., I, 356 

Fleming, James W., succeeds Osborne as Com- 
missioner, II, 236 

" Fletcher's," II, 90 

" Floating annex," the, II, 92 

Flooding, 

damage by, II. 208; suit by Dr. W. Seward 
Webb, 208; fight against Paul Smith's Co. 
for, 220; recommendation to allow, 222, 227 

Flower, Governor, signs undesirable forest Bill, 
II. 184 

Follensby, various spellings of, I, 177 

FoUensby Clear Pond, I. 177 

FoUensby Jr. Pond, I. 177 

Follensby Pond, I, 172, 177 

Fontainebleau, I, 245 

Foote, Congressman, I, 149 

Forest Commission, 

created. II. 167, 175; of three members, 178; 
increased from three to five members, 185; 
replaced by Fisheries, Game and Forest 
Commission. 196 

" Forest Cottages," the, II, 95 

Forest Fires, 

of i8o9. II, 201; emergency measures, 201; 
damage in iQOj, 214; inability to cope with, 
215; Adirondack Lodge destroyed, 214; losses 
in iQo8, 223; campaign for better protection, 
224; a conference, 224; special committee, 
224; Osborne quoted, 224; of 1911. 236; from 
lightning, 236 

Forest Fish and Game Commission, 

created, II, 207; reduced from five to three 
members, 208; becomes single headed, 213; 
replaced by Conservation Commission, 234 

Forest Preserve, , .„„ , ^ 

I. 4- created. II, 167-175; defined. 177; defi- 
nition altered bv laws of 1885, 177; altered 
by laws oiiSgj, 185; Board created, 199; list 
of lands. 256 

Forest Preserve Board, II. 199. 208 . 

Foresters, Independent Order of, buys Rainbow 
Inn, footnote, I. 22 

Forestry Amendment, II. 195 

Forestry, Bibliography of , first printed. II, 171); 
reprinted, 180 

Forests, Superiuttrdent of, 11. 228 



Forge House, The, I, 128 

Fort Edwards, 11, 154 

Foster, Nat, 

occupies Herreshoff Manor, I, 117; birth and 
marriage of, 118; his hunting record, 118- 
his appearance and disposition, 118; his 
neighbors on Brown's Tract, 119: the enmitv 
of Drid, 119; the shooting of Drid, 119-120- 
the trial of, 121; moves to Boonville and 
dies there, 121; sketch of his life in Trafi- 
Pers of New York, 121 ; biography by Byron- 
Curtiss 122; identity with Natty Bumppo 
claimed. 122; Hurlburt letter quoted, 122; 
V',^-A;°"™^° quoted, 123; compared with 
John Cheney, 169 

Fouquet House (Plattsburg), I, 249 

"Four-Track News," I, 208 

Fox, Alanson, II, 152 

Fox, Norman, II, 152 

Fox, William F., 

his long service with State, II, 228; his forest 
record, 229; Forest Commission Report 
quoted as to, 229; Land Grants and Patents of 
Norlhern New York. 230; History of the 
Lumber Industry in New York, 230 

Francis, John, 

son-in-law and partner of John Brown of 
Providence, I. 93; how he acquired John 
Brown's Tract, 96; scored in John Brown's 
will, 98; death of. 97 

Francis, John Brown, favorite grandson of 
John Brown of Providence, I, 92; opens 
"No. 4." 133 

Francis, Lake, 1,99, 133 

Franklin County, part in "blue line," I, 4 

Franklin County Library, I, 239 

Franklin Falls, 

location, I, 335; early history of. 335; 
destroyed by fire, 1832, 335 

Franklin House, The, 

at Franklin Falls, I, 335; destroyed by fire, 
3.35; rebuilt by Peter Comstock, 336; list of 
owners, 337 

Franklin Telephone and Telegraph Co., I, 
237 

Frederick the Great, I, 103 

French's, former gateway to Whiteface Moun- 
tain, I, 338 

Friedman, Dr., of Berlin, his "cure" at Algon- 
quin Hotel, I, 38 

Fuller Law, the, II, 223 

Fulton, Robert, I, 99; II, 101 

Fulton Chain, II. 114 

Fulton Chain Lakes, I, 99 

Fulton Chain Station, (Thendara), I, 99, 128 

Ganeagaonoga, Sylvester's name for the wilder- 
ness, I, 12 

Gardner, Eva (Mrs. E. C. Z. Judson), II, 121 

Gardner, Frank S., 

Secretary of New York Board of Trade and 
Transportation, II, 176; helps with Martin 
Bill, 177; father of Section 7, Article VII, 188; 
supplies data, 163; quoted as to State con- 
stitution, 188 

Garrett, Horatio W., I, 254 

Garvin, Hon. Francis P., II, 93 „ . , 

" Gaspee," sunk by John Brown of Providence, 
I, 90-92 

Gay, Edward, II, 43 

Gay, Mary, II, 30 

Genealogy of, t 000 

Millers of Saranac Lake, I, 222; 
Moodysof Saranac Lake. 214 

General Hospital (Saranac Lake), I. 240 

"Genesis of Ballantrae, The," quotations from 
I, 275-276 

George III, L 52, 55 

German Flats (Herkimer), I, la 

Gerster, Dr. Arpad G., tt o- k» 

supplies Raquette Lake data. II. 9o; be- 
friends Alvah Dunning, 106 

Giant of the Valley, footnote, I. 49 

Gibraltar of Forestry, II, 193, 237 

Gifford, S. R.,I. 174 



372 



INDEX 



Gilliland, William, 

his Journal. I, 18; his Life by Watson, 18- 
sketch of his career, 18-20; Watson quoted,' 
20; first visit to Ausable Chasm, 20 

Gleumore Summer School, story of. II 50 

Glens Falls, II, 1.54 

"Gloria Victis," statue by Merci6, I, 265 

Glynn, Gov., II, 239 

Goldsmith, Aaron, I, 219 

Goldsmith & Son, Aaron, I, 2.32 

Goldthwaite, Kenneth W., I. 235 

Goodelle, Judge Wm. P., II, 191 

Gospel, School, and Literature Lots, 

act creating, quoted, I, 79; all in T. & C 
Purchase, 80; now belong to State, 80 

Goss, Mrs. Mary Lathrop, her letter quoted 
about early days, I, 271-272 

" Gougeville," II, 76 

Grand View, I. 357 

Gr^n^t jo^Totten and Crossfield, Indian, II, 

Graves, David, II, 29 
Graves, Delia Ann, II, 30 
Graves, Jonathan, II, 33 
Gk-aves Hotel, II, 30 
Gray, Charles, I. 2.33 
Gray's Point, I, 377 
" Great Eastern," The, I. 84 
Green Mountains, seen by Champlain, I, 9 
Greene, Caroline (Mrs. V. C. Bartlett), I 314 
Greene County, in Forest Preserve, I 4 
Greenleaf, James, I, 94 
Greenough, Charlie, I, .332 
Gregory, George, I. 145 

" Growth of a Tree, The," noted pamphlet by 
Orson Phelps. II. 60 ^ f > 

Guide-boat, Adirondack, II, 79 
G«^^<'es,^notable Long Lake. II, 81 ; registration 

Guilford (Conn.), I, 190, 192 
Gunther, C. G., I, 223 

Haase, Mrs. William H., footnote, I, 280 

Hale, David, II, 35, 44 

Hale, LeGrand, II, 35 

Haley, Bartlett, " Little Barty," I, 314 

Half-Moon, sails up Hudson. I, 9 

Hall, Banjamin E., I, 223 

Hall, Captain E. P., II. 21 

Hall. Dr. Edward Hagaman, II, 211, 212 224 

Hall, Harrison, guide, I, 155 

Hall, Henry, I, 223 

Hall, Miss, 

T''ion^i"^l'''°/'^^'=''" ^tu"-ay's first wife, 
I, 190; sketch of her career, 191 

Hall, Sheldon, father of "Adirondack" Mur- 
ray s first wife. I, 190 

Hall Point, I. 377 

Halleck, Fitz Greene, I. 250. 262 

Hallock, Charles, 

^Fk^S'Fa"s"*337°*^'^' '^' ^^^'' "1"°*^^^^ to 
Hamilton County,' all in "blue line," I 4 
Hammersley, Miss Libby, II 44 ' 
Hance, Dr. Irwin H., I. 2.')7 
Hancock, Attorney General, denies right of way 

to Railway, II, 194 
^1°38 ^™' ^■' ^"^^ Algonquin Hotel in 1920, 
Hans^on, J. H., his The Lost Prince referred to, 
^Hotef'/°3'8°' ^"""^^ P^'oPrietor of Algonquin 

Harney (Louis Fournier, Long Lake hermit). 

storv 01, 11, /4 
Harper, A. R., 11, 159 
Harper, Henry S., I, 157 
Harper, William, I, 331 

Harper's Ferry, II, 3, 8, 10, 12. 15, 18 19 21 
Harnetstown, as town and village I 5 fi' 
Harriman, E. H., I. 247 
Hart, William, II, 43 
Hasbrouck camp. II, 94 
Hatfield, Rev. Edwin, I, 190 
Hathorn, Chauncey, II, 95, 102 



Hawk Island, I. 376 
Hayes, PoUy, I, 217 
Hazelton, Moses, I. 213 
Headley, J. T., 

^"°^ed as to Brown's Tract and "Arnold's." 
1, l/b; his p* Adtrondac. quoted as to John 
Cheney, 168; quoted as to Long Lake. II 67- 

^»^^fl f^c^^'P^^'^ Sabattis, 82; refers to 
Mitchell Sabattis, 84 . ^ i.u 

Heart Lake (Clear Lake), II, 23. 25 

Heise, Dr. Frederick H., I. 257 

Hekking, A. H., II, 43 

Henderson, Annie, I, 145 

Henderson, Archie, I. 144. 145 

Henderson, Charles Rapallo, Jr., I. 240 

Henderson, David, 

^^^■?Hnl''^''"^J'^° ^''°"'S him iron dam. I. 
13/-138; purchases land for Iron Works 138- 
his lost journal, 139; made manager of Iron 
Works, 141; plans to produce steel, 141-142- 
builds Lower Works. 141-142; meets " Graph- 
ite Dixon, 142; establishes first cast steel 
plant in America, 142; his tragic death, 144- 
his body taken to Jersey City, 145; family 
and descendants of, 145; characteristics of, 
14b; his wilderness monument. 146; effect of 
his death on the Iron Works, 146-147 
Henderson, Lake, I, 136 
Henderson, Maggie, I, 144, 145 
Henderson, Mt., I. 136 
Hendrick Spring, II, 75 
Herkimer County, part in "blue line." I, 4 
Herreshofif, Agnes Miihler, I. 103 
HerreshofiF, Charles Frederick, 

birth and parents. I. 103; boyhood, 103; 
petted by Frederick the Great, 103; sent to 
Philanthropin School." 103; lands in New 
York, 104; his command of English, 104- 
visits Providence and meets John Brown,' 
• carries Sarah Brown, 105; fails in busi- 
ness 105; his children, 105-106; moves to 
Point Pleasant Farm. 106; makes costly im- 
provements, 106; loss of wife's income, 107; 
goes to John Brown's Tract, 108; herd of 
sheep driven from Providence. 109; tries 
mining for iron, 109; builds expensive forge, 
109; collapse of all ventures. 109; the final 
tragedy, 110; removal of remains. 110; last 
letter to his wife, 111-112; last letter to his 
daughter Anna, 113-114 
Herreshoff, Lewis, I, 88 
Hewetson, Dr. S. W., I. 257 
Hewitt, J. N.B.. quoted, 1,21 
Higgins, Governor, II, 218 
Higgmson, Colonel, advances money to the 

Browns. II, 9 
''High Peak of Essex" (Mt. Marcy), I, 47 
Highland Park, I, 214, 218; II, 126, 240, 269 



Higley, Warren, I, 205; II, 159, 210 

.rU-*,, ■7*''^°''' Special Message of, II, 181 

'■ Hillside, The," I, 379 

Hinckley, Alexus. I, 17 

Hinds, Billy, I. .331 

Hinton, Colonel Richard J., II. 22 

Historical Sketches of Franklin Co.," quoted 
<• ^^°^^ ^^'^<i mine. I. 25, 74 

Historical Sketches of Northern New York" 
^quoted. I. 87 

" History of Essex Co.," Watson's quoted, 1 , 27; 
^_ bmith s referred to. 27 

History of Lewis County," referred to, I, 82 

« #>story of Queensbury " quoted, I. ,52 

History of th e Lumber Industry in New York." 

William F. Fox. II, 207 

" ?fl^^°'" ^^' Trudeau's favorite dog, I. 

Hoar. Judge, at the "Philosophers' Camp," I, 

Hodenosaunee, early name of land west of 
Lake Champlain, I. 12 

Hodenosauneega,area defined by Morgan. 1. 12 

Hodge, Rev. \ViUiam H., II. 45 

Hoffman, Chas. Fenno, originator of " Taha- 
w^us I. 4/ ; quoted as to Cheney and Bump- 
po, 123; his attempt to climb Mt. Marcy. 



INDEX 



37S 



Hoffman, Chas. Fenno—Continued 

153; his Wild Scenes in the Forest, quoted as 
to John Cheney, 167 

Hoffman Tract, I, 80 

Holden's" Historyof Queensbury" quoted I 52 

Holland, John G., II, 90, 97; his first hotel 
burns, 97; the mill incident, 97; builds Blue 
Mountein Lake Hotel, 102; the hotel burns. 

Holmes, John, 

at the "Philosophers' Camp," I, 185; 
his Letters referred to, 185 

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, refuses to join " Philo- 
sophers' Camp," I, 175 

Holt, Alvah, II, 32 

Holt, Harvey, I, 153, 358 

Holt, Smith, II. 31 

Homer, Winslow, II, 43 

Honnedaga Lake, formerly Jock's Lake, I, 40 
121; II, 160 

Hopkinton, II. 126 

Hopper, De Wolfe, I, 352 

Horses, first in Saranac Lake. I. 297 

Hough, Mr., builds "Saranac Inn," I, 317 

Hough, the historian, quoted, I, 84; referred to, 
II, 130 

Hough's"Historyof St. Lawrence and Franklin 
Counties," quoted, I, 43 

Houghton, Jim, I. 267 

Hounding of deer, abolished, II, 209 

Hovey, Mrs. George, quoted as to early settlers 
on Brown's Tract. I. 116 

Howe, Dr. Estes, at the " Philosophers' Camp," 
I, 184 

Rowland, Henry E., II, 159. 211 

"Hudson, The," 

by Lossing, referred to. I, 163; quoted as to 
Long Lake. II, 73 

Hudson River, I, 9; on Sauthier's map, 13; 
highest pond source of, 162 

Hudson River Telephone Co., I, 237 

Hughes, Governor, 

orders an investigation. II, 223; receives the 
report of investigators, 231; suggests the issu- 
ing of bonds, 233 ; his forest record, 233 ; drafts 
a model Bill, 233 

Hull, Mrs. Frank, II, 30 

Hull, Otis H., II, 48 

Hull's, 11, 48 

Hunkins, Laura P., I. 295 

" Hunter's Home," Paul Smith's first hotel, I, 
322 

Hunting season, shortened, II, 254 

Huntington, Collis P., II. 91 

Huntington, Prof. Ellsworth, his Is Civiliza- 
tion Determined by Climate? quoted. I. 241- 
242 

Hurd, John, 

railroad interests, II, 137; forcefulness, 138; 
religious tendencies, 139 

" Hurd's Road," II, 137-140 

Hurricane Mount, II. 50 

In-ca-pah-co, II. 63 

Independence River, I. 99 

Indian, „„ 

occupation, I. 21-28; relics. 22; carry, 22, 23, 
24; burying-ground. 24 

Indian Carry, 

controlled by Swensons, I. 23; closed to 
public, 23 

Indian Legends, _ ^. . . 

Old Indian Face, I, 29; The Division of the 
Saranacs, 30; An Event in Indian Park, 31; 
The Indian Plume, 32; Birth of the Water- 
Lily, 33 

Indian Pass, 

location and description of, 1. 164; Prot. 
Emmons quoted as to. 164; Street's book on, 
referred to, 164; present day neglect of, Ibo; 
letter of P. F. Schofield quoted, 165-166; In- 
dian names for, 166; Gertrude Atherton 
quoted as to. 166; secondary sources of Hud- 
son and Ausable in 166 

Indian Point (First Lake), I, 120; II, 113 



Indians, 

no permanent settlements in Adirondacks, I 
21; presence of an earlier people suggested. 

Inger^'l^rFVaS tfi^'''' ^^°''''^'"^' '' 

^"l53™' ^' ^■' ^''^ sketches of Marcy region, I, 

Injunction, 

^y Henry W. Boyer. II. 194; by friends of 
forest. 196; against Paul Smith's Co.. 225 

"Inwood, The," 1,379 

Iron dam, I. 138 

Iron ore deposits in Essex County, I, 137 

Iroquois, I. 12 

Iroquoisia, "land of Iroquois" around Lake 
Champlain, I. 11, 12 

Jackson, Frank M., I, 237 

James, Dr. Walter B., footnote, I, 259 

James, Professor William, II, 45 

Jameson, E. C, I, 380 

Jamieson, Dr. W. H., I, 257 

Janet Lake, II. 101 

Janeway, Dr., I. 246. 247 

Jarvis, Hugh S.,I, 378 

Jay, I, 336, 339 

Jay (Lower Jay), location of, I, .338; its growth. 

Jay, Upper, I, 338, 339 

Jenkins Hill, I, 251 

Jenkins Pond (Lake Madeleine), I, 74 

Jessup, Ebenezer, 

Sketch of career, I, 51-53; goes to India and 
dies there, 53; grandfather of Morris K. 
Jesup, 53; laid out T. & C. townships, 57; 
his 55-mile line, 76 

Jessup, Edward, sketch of career, I, 51-53 

Jessup, Joseph, I, 51 

Jessup's Falls, I, 52 

Jessup's Ferry, I, 52 

Jessup's Lake, I, 61 

Jessup's Landing, I, 52 

Jessup's Purchase, same as Totten and Cross- 
field's Purchase, I. 51 

Jessup's River, I, 61 

Jesup, Morris K., 

philanthropist, grandson of Ebenezer Jessup. 

I, 53; his interest in Forest preservation. II. 
172, 173. 177 

Jesup, Rev. Henry Griswold, author of Edward 

Jessup and His Descendants, I. 53 
Jo Mountain, named in honor of Miss Scofield, 

II. 25 

Jock's Lake, I. 40; (Honnedaga). 121; referred 
to. II. 160 

"John Brown: A Biography Fifty Years After," 
quoted, II. 11 

John Brown Association, The, list of promoters, 
11. 18 

John Brown's Tract, , , „ 

acreage of, I. 88; named after John Brown of 
Providence. 89; originally J. J. Angerstein 
Tract. 94; various sales rehearsed. 94; James 
Greenleaf buys. 94; mortgage to Philip Liv- 
ingston. 94; Benton's History of Herkimer 
County quoted, 95; how John Brown became 
the owner of. 96 ; how his partner came by the 
deed. 96; his will quoted as to John Francis 
and partition of. 97-98; lakes and rivers m. 
99; Fulton Chain and Robert Fulton. 99; 
John Brown's Tract Inlet, 99-100; Raquette 
Lake R. R.. 99; Brown's Tract Ponds. 100; 
division into eight townships with unusual 
names. 101; Snyder's paper quoted as to 
settlements started by Brown in Townships 
1 and 7. 101-102; third and last attempt to 
settle Township 7. 116; Chas. Fred. Herres- 
hoff moves to. 108; settlers lured to, 115; 
the "Herreshoff Manor," 115; the first wed- 
ding on, 115; story of man threatened by 
judge with deportation to, 117; efforts of 
John B. Francis on. 114; Nat Foster settles 
on. 117; the shooting of Drid. 119-120; Otis 
Arnold settles on. 123; the shooting of James 
Short, 127; Herreshoff Manor burns, 127; 



374 



INDEX 



John Brown's Tract— CoM/»««ed 

Jvady Amelia Murray crosses. 124- her de- 
scription of "Arnold's." 124-125 Headlev 
quoted as to first lad^ camperT 126; tar!y 
description of, in Putnam's Magazine 
-Arnold-. ??.~^I^=T, ^^^'^ description'^of 
1^?. M!?i ^l J.- B- Thorpe, quoted. 131- 
T«i i ^°- f • ^r^^ Omn Penton, 132-135 

Johnson, WiUard, I. 119 

Johnson Hall, II, 125 

Johnstown, I, 15; II, 129 

■^''S'sl'''^**"^' ^^^ ""^ Mitchell Sabattis, II. 

Josly'n, C. D., I, 380 

Joy. Major Abiathar, I, 115 

Jndson, Dr. Edward, I, 378 

nlT' ^***"^ ^""^ Carroll, s€e Ned Bunt- 
Kane, Miss Mary A., I. 257 

Keene Center (Keene), 

the first settlers. II, 29; the first hotel (now 
standing), 30; the giant elm. 30 ^ 

Ke^e^ne Valley, location of, II, 29; its rare beauty. 

Keeae Valley (Keene Flats). 

t^''iL^^"'."'io"■.3^• fi^^t s«=hool. 32; school 
Irffit- °u- ■^^' fi"' school trustees, 33 
artists .rallying-ground. 43; a rendezvous for 
professional men, 45; Shurtleff, quoted as to, 

34 : th'^^rhn °n h °^- ^^i F°^^^ °f ^^^ school 

J4, the school library, 35 
Keene Valley Country Club, II, 34 
Keene Valley Inn (Blinn's Hotel), II, 49 



Keene Valley Library, II, 32" 
Keese's Mills. II. 40 



Keese's Mills, II. 40 

KeeseviUe, I. 333. 336. 342 

KeUer, Miss Amelia, II. 96 

Kellogg, Henry D., II. 66 

Kellogg, Orrin, guide, I, 156 

Kendall, Charles H., I, 234 

Kendall, Dr. Frank E.. I, 237, 342 343 

343^"'^ Pharmacy (Saranac Lake), I. 237 
Kenwell, Ike, II, 95 
" Kickerville," II. 76 
Kidder, Dr. Scott, I, 222 
Kingsley, William L., II, 34. 45 
Kirby, Miss C. T., I. 256 
"Kitty," Dr. Trudeau's horse. I, 259 

flJIt^f ^^^'^"^^^^'yT^^^^so^e Pond. I, 41 
Knevals, Sherman W., II 178 

'^^'*^^*'^''^*=''^'' Magaaine," II. 118 

Koch, Dr., I. 2.53. 255 

Kollecker, W. F., I, 237 

Konoshion, early name of land west of Lake 

Cnamplain. I, 12 
Kora Lake (Sumner), II. 93 
Kossuth, Louis, I, 174 
Krumbholz. T. E., I. 304; 305. 378 
Kushaqua, Lake, formerly Round Pond. 1, 41- 

site of btonywold Sanatorium ,41 

Laboratory (Saranac Lake), I, 254 
La Casse, Noah, guide, I, 155 
Ladew, J. Harvey, II, 95 
Laight, Dr., II, 31. 45 
Lake Placid (the lake), 

piyn^'°°l7«^' ^- ■'^^^' """^^ "^^ 377; Paradox 
fona. S/b; prominent campers on. 377- 
prominent hotels on. 378-380; early boats on.' 

Lake Placid (the village), 
location of I 346; Bennett's Pond, 346; early 
settlers of. 347; rambling growth of 347- 
near-by hotels of early days, 348- later-dav 
•V*^'' r^-J.^'^'^ L?^« P'^^id Club 365; first 
store of. 357; main street of. 357 

Lake Placid Club (Melvil Dewey), 

location of. I, 365; description of by T. Morris 
Longstreth, 366-374 yi-iviorris 



"tir^fi?i&r/-|»{ Company. I. 381 

K:Sa^rKi^"'^3 

Lamora, Oliver, story of, II, 145-148 
Lamson, Sarah E., I. 296 

" v*°? ,?T?,?,'? ""<* Patents of Northern New 
York." William F. Fox. II. 230 
S^,*y°' 9*S«^'es, I. 153; his Adventures in the 
W^l^s^of America quoted as to John Cheney! 

^f*2"' ^f'- .Walter H., I. 239; II, 139 
Lathrop, Azel, 

original settler on Trudeau site, I, 268- 
9fiS'i'K °L^'I ''^^' 268; his house described," 
269; builds first school in his section, 269' 
founds Lathrop, Mich., 270 ' 

Latour, Duffield, I, 332, 333 

Law, see Act 

Lawrence's Tract, I, 81 

Lead mine, 

" ni!f 4^*° u "7- *° ^""^ >*•!• 25; known to 
T .«? 1%^- ^V possible location of. 26 
Leasmg of Forest lands, 

first recommendation for, II 17Q iqo. 

amendment fails, 199 ' 

LirCof^n^'e'; Fra^nc^lffl.^g^'^'^^-'^"' "" ^^^ 
Legends, see Indian 
Legget, William Fox, I. 377 
Legislature, 

outline of legislative control, II. 163; divided 
P^X^f^^^%o^^'l^'^> ^^^} ^"^''on towards a 
^ul^d \kl^'' ^"thonzes first Topographical 
iurvey! 174 ' ^"*^°"^" ^^^t State Land 
Lenawee, in Indian Plume Legend. I 32 
LeRay de Chaumont, James Donatianus 

interested in Chassanis Tract. I. 85'; once 
f^^t^ Harrietstown. 86; built first good road 
o« ,"iH''" County, 86; founded LeRay ville. 
%*'l iJ^^^^ ^° Bonaparte and Madame de 
btael. 86; dies in France. 86 
LeRay de Chaumont, Vincent, I. 86 
LeRayvilIe, I, 86 

^^fser Tracts, The, list and description of 17, 
" Letters from the Backwoods," 

quoted as to Long Lake, II. 67; quoted as to 
Captain Sabattis. 82 
Lewis County, in Forest Preserve. I 4 
Lewis Grab Bill, II, 214 
Libby, Professor O. G., II, 21 
Libraries, in Saranac Lake. I. 239 

.. ^oo^n'o"' \%T °' ''''"''' ^"°« «""•" 

"Life and Letters of John Brown," quoted as 

^^ to John Brown, II, 4 
Life and Letters of John Todd," II, 64 

Lightning, fires from, II. 236 

Lila. Lake (Smith's Lake), I. 135 

Lintner.J. A..II. 182 

List. 

bodies re-interred at John Brown's farm, II, 
21; early settlers at Long Lake, 66; Adiron- 
otc n '""^^.^s. 141; appropriation for land. 
255; Forest Preserve Lands. 256; altitudes of 
mountains. 283; trees. 285; mammals. 286- 

T •7Ei*^^'" i^^^- 287-291 ; birds. 291-296 

Litchfield. Edward H.. 

his park described. I. 74; his castle described. 
.74-75; his love of big game, 75; brings suit 
involving T. & C. boundary. 75-77 

Litchfield vs. Sisson. 

the line involved. I, 74; story of Indians and 
r"'"'J^\S?"P'^^"'s'i°e, 76; Jessup's 55-mile 
line, 76; Mitchell's line. 76; Wright's line 76- 
opinion of Referee Kellogg quoted. 77 ; appeal 
dismissed, 77; old survey discovered, foot- 
note. 76 

Little Moose Lake, II, 161 

Little Rapids, I. 261 
;; Little Red," I, 256 

" ^'"}f ^«d," The, not first building ever built 
on Sanitarium site, I, 266 



INDEX 



375 



Livingston, Christina, second wife of Alex. 
Macomb, I, 63 

Livingston, Isaac, I, 213 

Livingston, Jim, I, 247 

Livingston, Lou, I, 247 

Livingston, Philip, I, 63, 94; II, 63 

Livingston Manor, I, 15 

Livingstone, Dr. (David), I. 11 

Locomotives, Adirondack, obliged to burn oil. 
II, 240 

Lonesome Pond, I, 41 

Long lake, 

broad channel of Raquette River, II, 63; 
Indian name of, 63; location of, 63; Dr. Todd 
and, 64; the first church service at, 65; J. T. 
Headley quoted as to, 67; remoteness of, 67; 
first sawmill of. 68; growth of, 69; pamphlet 
advertising, 69; list of early settlers, 66; first 
death at, 71 

Long Lake Colony, II, 67 

Long Lake Village (Gougeville), 

location of, II, 76; first church of, 76; stone 
beach near, 76; development of, 77; lack of 
good road connections, 77; Amendment, per- 
mitting State road from Saranac Lake to, 77; 
first Adirond^k guide-boat built at, 79 

Long Neck, I, 72 

Long Point, II. 96 

Longfellow, refuses to join "Philosophers' 
Camp," I, 175 

Longstreth, T. Morris, 

quoted as to view from Mt. Marcy, I, 150- 
151 ; quoted as to Lake Placid Club, 366-374 

Loomis, Dr. Alfred L., II, 182 

Loomis, Dr. Hezekiah B., I, 323 

Loon Lake House, story of, I, 355-356 

Lossing, Benjamin J.,hisTke Hudson referred 
to, I, 163; II, 54, 73 

Lossing, Mrs., II, 54, 73 

" Lost Prince, The" (Louis XVII), referred to, I, 
73 

Lothrop Stretch, I, 72 

Lough Neagh, I, 72 

Lowell, James Russell, at the "Philosophers' 
Camp." I, 180 

Lower Works (Tahawus P. O.), I, 141. 142 

Lowrie, Rev. Samuel T., buys home from Orson 
Phelps, II, 62 

Lumbering, Adirondack, 

local terms, II, 150; log-lengths, 152; early 
carelessness, 153; log railroads, 156. hard- 
wood, 157; romance gone, 158; thefts, 217; 
history of by Col. Fox, 230 

Lundy, Rev. John Patterson , 

his Saranac Exiles discussed. I. 228; quoted, 
220; his stay in Saranac Lake, 229; sketch of 
his career, 229 

Luzerne, home of the Jessups. I, 52 

Lyman, Colonel Henry H., II, 18 

Lynch, Rev. Father, II, 19 

Lyon, Martin C, I, 365 

Lyon's Hotel, a pioneer halfway house, 365 



McAlpin, E. A., I, 60 
McCabe, Patrick, 

appointed Commissioner, II, 240; appoint- 
ment criticized, 241 
McCarthy, Hon. Dennis, II, 95, 
McCleland, Jamie, I. 125 
McClellan, Dr. E. S., I, 240 
McCleUan, Katherine E., , . , 

her connection with the buna! of John 

Brown's followers, II, 20-22 
McClenathan FaUs, II, 132 
McClure, Hon. David, presents Amendment to 

Convention. II, 190 
McConnell, Wm. F., 

supplies data, II, 163; takes document to 

Albany, 190 
McCord, George, II. 43 
McCormick, Daniel, . ^, , 

sketch of his life, I. 66-67; his part in Macomb 

Purchase, 67 
McFarlane, Peter, II, 137 



Mcl^ntyre, Archibald, I, 137, 139, 140. 149, 152. 

Mclntyre, Caroline, I, 149 

Mclntyre, John McD., I, 138 139 

Mclntyre, R. H., I, 2,J6 

Mclntyre Bank, I, 143 

Mclntyre Iron Co., I, 149 

Mclntyre Iron Works, I, 140 

Mclntyre Mt., I, I,;6 164 

Mclntyre Village (Ad'irondac). I, 14« 

McKee, F. H., I, 232 

McKillip, Dan, I, ,J31 

McKim.J. M.,II, 13, 16 

McKmley, President, I. 155, 157 

McLaughlin, Bill, II, 139 

McLaughlin, Chester B., II, 191 

McMahon, Dennis, I, 267 

McManus, Phil., I, 331, 332 

McMartin, Judge Duncan, I, 138, 139, 141 

McMartin, Malcolm, I, 137. 138 

Mac Nanghton, James, I. 149, 155 

McQuillan, Henry, I, 331 

Macauley, Abigail, I, 219 

Macbeth, Madge, I, 211 

Machold Law, 

passes, II, 245; is amended, 245; operation 

delayed by World's War, 246 
Mack, David, father-in-law of Wra. J. Stillman, 

Mackenzie River, I, 209, 211 
Macomb, Alexander, 

sketch of his life, I, 62-66; the "Million 
Bank," 64; imprisonment, 64; buys land near 
Spuyten Duyvil, 64; his house, 65; builds 
mill, 65; interest in hydraulics, 65; dies at 
home of soldier son, 66 

Macomb, John, I, 62 

Macomb, Robert, I, 65 

Macomb Patent, II, 184 

Macomb's Dam Bridge, I, 65 

Macomb's Purchase, 
location and areas of. I, 62; assignment of 
first patents, 67; " Macomb Patent," the, 68; 
application for, text of, 68; early resales, 70; 
new tracts carved out of, 70; Great Tracts I. 
II, III, described, 70; names of 27 townships 
in Great Tract I, 70; story of Lough Neagh, 
71; political criticism of, 72; attempt to m- 
volve Gov. Clinton, 72; price fixing, 73; St. 
Regis Reservation, 73; mystery of lost 
dauphin, 73; Rev. Eleazer Williams, 73, 74; 
Hanson's The Lost Prince referred to, 73 

Madeleine, Lake (Jenkins Pond), I. 74 

Maine Company, II. 155 

Maintenon, Madame de, I, 46 

Malbone, Sarah Eleanor, I, 221 

Malby, Senator, II. 198. 220 

Mallory, Nathaniel, I. 339 

" Mallory's Bush," I, 339 

Mallory's Grant, II, 31 

Malone, II, 152 

Mammals, Adirondack, II, 286 

Man, Major, I, 25 

Manasquan (N. J.), I, 274 „ _• , 

Manning, Estella E. (Mrs. Wm. A. Martin), 
first girl telegraph operator in the Adiron- 
dacks, I, 268; sketch of her career, 268 

Manning, Gabriel, I, 331 , . , 

Manning, Mrs. Gabriel, daughter of Azel 
Lathrop, I, 270 

Manning, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas, 1, 333 

Mansfield, James, II. 21 

Mansfield, Richard, I, 287 

Map, earliest to show region, I, U 

Maple Grove Mountain House, It, 4« 

Marcy, Dr., I, 380 ., r i-^o 

Marcy, Gov. William Learned, I, 152 

^fts" height', I, 150; Longstreth quoted as to 
view from summit of, 150-151 ; first a.scent of. 
152; Prof. Emmons quoted as to ijaming of, 
152-153; early climbers of_ note 152; Hon- 
man's experience. 153; ongm of Indian name 
"Tahawus." 154; various measurements of. 
154- Catskills considered higher than. IM, 



376 



INDEX 



Marcy, Mt.— Continued 

exact location of, 155; Roosevelt's night 
ride from, 156-156; Victory Mountain Park 
project, 167 

Marion Lake, II, 101 

Marion River, II, 97, 101 

Marston, Edwin S., II, 189, 211 

Martin, Clarinda, I, 294, 295 

Martin, Edmund Philo, 

appointed chairman of special committee. II, 
176; introduces new Bill, 176; is offered 
Commissionership, 178 

Martin, Fred, guide, I, 247 

Martin, Henry Kilburn, I, 306 

Martin, Henry Wheeler, kills last mouse around 
Saranac Lakes, I, 294 

Martin, Stephen C, 

birth and marriage, I, 308; his career, 308; 
Murray's description of, 309; letter describ- 
ing, 309 

Martin, Susan, I, 294, 295 

Martin, William Allen, 

only son of William F., I, 295; birth and boy- 
hood of, 305; marries Estella E. Manning, 
305; his love of machinery and boat-building, 
305; forms partnership with T. Edmund 
Krumbholz, 305; his light guide-boats called 
■■ Willie Allen's egg-shells," 306 

Martin, Wm. A. (Mrs.) I, 292 

Martin, William Fortune, 

his father, birth, and death, I, 294; his ap- 
pearance and disposition, 295; his first wife 
and their children, 295; death of his only 
daughter, 296; his ride through the snow for 
a doctor, 296; his second wife. 296; leases 
Captain Miller house. 298; decidesto build on 
Lower Lake. 298; description of new hotel, 
298; the "hole in the house," 298; letter de- 
scribing the trip to " Martin's," 298; the old 
guide house, 299; the moving into new hotel. 
299; distinguished guests and their relations 
with. 299; his character and traits. 300; his 
interest in medicine. 301 ; letter of old patron 
quoted, 301 ; his skill with his little rifle, 302; 
his fondness for cards and dancing, 303 ; loses 
his hotel, 303; builds another hotel, 303; his 
failing health and death, 304 

Martin's Hotel, 

location of, I, 292; Murray's description of, 
292; Wallace's description of, 293; first of its 
kind, 298; the "hole in the house," 298; dis- 
tinguished guests at, 299; sold under fore- 
closure in i88i. 303; becomes the "Miller 
House," 303; destroyed by fire, 303; early 
health-seekers at, 267 

Mason, James Brown, I, 93 

Masons, I, 238 

Masten, Arthur H., I, 140, 149 

Mather, Fred, II, 109, 117, 120, 122, 182 

Matthews, John, II. 45 

Mayer, Attorney-General, II, 218 

Meacham, Sam, II, 127 

Meadowbrook Farm, I. 239 

"Medical Pickwick, The," II, 116 

"Memorials of Thomas Davidson," II. 51 

" Men I Have Fished With," II. 117, 122 

Mercator, greatest geographer of his age, I, 11 

Mercie, I, 265 

"Meriden Literary Recorder," I, 193 

Merkel, Joseph, I. 237 

Merriam, John, I. 267 

Merritt, General Edwin A., II, 18 

Merritt-O'Neil, 
resolution presented, II, 222; resolution 
defeated. 222 

Merwin, Tyler, builds Blue Mountain House. 
II, 102 

Meserve, George, I, 331 

Message, by Governors, 

Dix, II. 171, 234; Cornell, 171; Hill, special, 
181; Black, 199; Roosevelt, 207; Odell, 208; 
Hughes, emergency. 223 

Middle Falls, between Round and Lower 
Saranac Lake, I, 307; State dam at, footnote, 
308; 



Middleton, DeWitt C, II, 213, 218 
Miller, Annie O., I, 220 
Miller, Capt. Pliny, 

pioneer settler in Saranac Lake, I, 216; his 

wife and children, 217; 238, 343 
Miller, Eleanor S., I, 221 
Miller, Ensine, 

his two houses, I, 217; his two marriages and 

children, 217, 218; his character and pursuits, 

218; his death, 218 
Miller, Helen M., I. 221 
Miller, Homer, I. 217, 238 
Miller, John J., built original "Riverside Inn," 

I, 219; 331 
Miller, Mary A., I, 238 
Miller, Matt., I, 331 
Miller, Milo Bushnell, sketch of his career, I, 

218. 219; 232, 233, 236, 239, 303, 308 
Miller, Mrs. Julia A., I, 256 
Miller, Prof, (of Princeton), I, 152 
Miller, Rev. Elmer P., 

sketch of his career, I, 221 ; accepts call to St. 

Luke's Church. 221 
Miller, Roxy, I, 308 
Miller, Seaver A., I, 221 
Miller, Van Buren, 

moves to Saranac Lake, I, 219; his house still 

standing, 220; his many activities, 220; his 

interest in education. 220; opens State road 

to Bartlett's. 220: entails heavy loss. 221 ; his 

death, 221; his wife and children, 221 
Miller, Warner, II, 159 
Miller House, I, 292, 298. 299 
Millers (of Saranac Lake), genealogical table 

of, I, 222 
Miller's Pond, I, 41 
" Million Bank " bubble, I, 64 
Mills, Col. A. G., I. 379, 381: II, 159 
Minshull, William, I. 236 
Mirror Lake ^ennett's Pond), I, 346, 362 
Mirror Lake House, I, 357 
Mitchell, Medad, surveyor, I, 76 
Moira, II. 137 
Monell, Mrs. Judge, I. 346 
Montgomerv County, I, 16 
Moody, A. W., I, 3.'}7 
Moody, Cortez Fernando, first white baby born 

in Saranac Lake. I, 214 
Moody, Daniel, I. 214 
Moody, Eliza, I. 214 
Moody, Franklin, I, 214 
Moody, Harvey, quoted as to Whiteface, I, 49; 

214 
Moody, Jacob Smith, first settler in Saranac 

Lake, I. 213; sketch of his career, 214 
Moody, Martin, sketch of his career, I, 215 
Moody, Smith, I, 214 
Moody homestead, I, 214 
Moody, P. O., I, 215 
Moody Pond, I, 214, 282 
" Moody's," earliest name for Saranac Lake, 

I, 215 
Moodys (of Saranac Lake), genealogical table 

of, 1,214 
Moose, 

movement to restore them, I, 205; Radford's 

Bill passed and signed, 206; first shipment 

liberated. 207; the last Adirondack. II, 109; 

article by Madison Grant, 208; Radford 

Moose Bill, 209 
Moose Island, I, 376. 380 
Moose River (North Branch), I. 99 
Moose River Tract, I. 81; II, 159 
" Moosewood, The," I, 380 
Morgan, J. Pierpont, II, 93 
Morris, Gouverneur, manages Chassanis Tract, 

I, 85 
" Mother Johnson's," I. 199 
Mountain Home Telephone Co., I. 237 
Mountain Peaks, Adirondack, II. 283 
Mountain View Lake, 1. 25 
Murray ("Adirondack"), William Henry 
Harrison, 

his birth,youth,and schooling, 1, 190; sketch of 

his career, 190-191 ; callto Park Street Church, 



INDEX 



377 



Murray, etc. — Continued 

Boston, 1901, 91; founds the Music Hall In- 
dependent Congregational Church, 192- 
vanishes suddenly, goes to Texas. 192; opens 
restaurant in Montreal, 192; begins lecturing 
192; travels abroad. 192; retires to Guilford'. 
192; publication of his Adventures in the 
Wilderness, 193; the "Murray Rush." 194; 
satire in Harper's Magazine quoted, 195' 
his Adventures discussed. 196; apostrophe to 
"Honest John," 196; "Nameless Creek" ad- 
venture, 196; "Phantom Palls" adventure 
197; "Jack-Shooting in a Foggy Night," 198; 
his praise of "Mother Johnson's," 199; his 
error about lumbering, 199; his camp on 
Osprey Island, 199; his farewell tribute to 
"Honest John," 200; his friendship with 
Harry V. Radford, 209; his biography by 
Radford, 210; quoted as to " Martin's." 292; 
quoted as to Steve Martin, 309; II. 90; 113,' 

Murray, Lady Amelia M., 

her Letters quoted, I, 124-125; first lady to 
,, cross wilderness, 125; guest of honor. 215 
Murray, Wallace, I, 235; II. 30 
" Murray Rush," The, I. 194 
Music Hall Independent ConKreeational 

Church, I, 192 
"Myths and Legends of Our Own Land," 

quoted I, 29-33 

" Nameless Creek," I, 196 
Nash, Jim, I, 365 
Nash, Joseph V., 

owner of Nash's hotel, I. 349; his threshing 
machines, 349; his wife (Aunt Harriet), 349; 
builds Excelsior House. 354 

Nash, R., I, 349 

Nash's hotel, 

location of, I, 349; "Uncle Joe." the owner. 
349; early guests. 350 

Nash's Pond (Mirror Lake), I. 346 

Natty Bumppo, I, 122-123 

Navarre, Catherine de, first wife of Alex. 
Macomb, I, 63 

"Ned Buntline's Own," II, 119 

Negro farms, the, how divided, II, 6; transient 
guests of, 6 

Nehasane Lake (Albany Lake), I, 41, 135 

Nehasane Park Preserve, II, 140 

Neilson, JohnF., I, 236 

New York Board of Trade and Transportation, 
organized, II, 170; joins with Chamber of 
Commerce. 173; is left alone in fight. 173; 
Special Committees of 1883, 172; fights the 
Adirondack Battle of the Marne. 174; op- 
poses act signed by Gov. Flower. 185; ap- 
points special Committee on Constitutional 
Amendment, 188; and A. P. A. defeat Lewis 
Grab Bill. 213; opposes building of dams by 
Paul Smith's Co.. 220; fights Merritt-O'Neil 
resolution. 222 

"New York Journal and Patriotic Register" 
quoted, I, 64 

New York Telephone Co., I.. 237 

Newcomb, I. 170 

Newhall, Henry B., I. 381 

Newman, Miss Anna, 

cousin of Dr. Henry Van Dvke, I. 358; friend 
of the Holts. 358; her traits and sifts, 358; 
fond of hunting, 358; buys the Holt farm. 
1872,359; eccentricities of, 360; the fruitless 
farm, 360; fondness for horses. 361; her 
benevolence. 361; tribute paid to her name. 
362; the broken leg incident. 362; death of. 
363 

Newman, village of, I, 358-362 . 

Newspaper, pulp requirements alarming, II, 212 

Newspapers, in Saranac Lake, I, 235 

Nick's Lake, I. 127; II. 161 

Nightingale, Florence, footnote, I. 257 

Niles, Miss Carry, I. 314 

Nobleborongh Tract, I, 81 

Noke's settlement, II. 127 

NorthCreek, I, 334; II. 135 



North Elba, 

tradition of Indian settlement. I. 26 27- 
Town organized. 347 ' 

'North Jay," I. 340 

North River Head Tract, I. 80 

Norton, Charles fihot. stays away from "Philo- 
sophers' Camp." I 175 / "«" rmio 

Norton, C. F., 

kin^'^f-^fi? Carry fight I 48; the lumber 

.< «T "^: *y"' ""ys in Prankhn Palls. 336 
Notch Road," I. .331, .341. 343 
Number Four," 

location of. I. 132; origin of name. 132 ; opened 
?y Gov. Francis. 133; inducementstosettlers 
133; Orrin Penton builds hotel on 1,33- 
btevens pamphlet about. 134; Fenton sells to 
Lewis. 135; see Appendix B.. II. 260-271 

Nursery, Forest, 

appropriation for. II, 209; established at 
Saranac Inn. 213,- at Wawbeek and Axton 
taken over by State. 217; experimental 
station established. 221 

Nursery Station, Experimental. II. 221 

O'Brian, "Fitch" (A. F.), the dean of stage- 
drivers. I. 331 ^ 

Observing Station, inaugurated, II. 225- de- 
scribed. 226 

Oil burning locomotives, ordered by law. II. 240 

O'Kane, James, hermit, I, 134 

" Old Beard," a wandering tinker. I. 363; goes 
to the poorhouse. 364; the hidden money. 364 

OldForge.I, 114. 128; 11,77, 140 

"Old Merchants of New York City." I. 66 

Old Military Road, I, 269; II. 72 

Old Military Roads, II, 123-130 

Old Military Tract, 

description of, I. 78; why it was created. 78; 
origin of name. 79; boundaries of. 79; largest 
townships are in. 79; places within, 79 

"Old Rome and the New, The," bv W. J. Still- 
man, contains chapter "The Philosophers' 
Camp," I, 172 

" Om-soo-wee," I. 378 

Onchiota, I. 41 

Oneida County, in Forest Preserve, I, 4 

O'Neil, Frederick, I. 270 

O'Neil, Hon. Wm. T., I, 270 

O'Neill, Tom, II. 40 

Opalescent River, I. 163 

Open fire-places, 

first in Lucius Evans' house. I. 226; second i« 
Andrew Baker's house, 226 

Ortelius, Abraham, maker of earliest map, I. 1 1 

Osawatomie, II. 7. 9, 18. 22 

Osborne, Thomas Mott, 

quoted as to fires in jgoS. II. 224; appointed 
Commissioner. 235 ; resigns. 2,36 ; suggested as 
Conservation Commissioner. 235 

Osbourne, Lloyd, 

quoted. I. 283; revisits Saranac Lake. 289 

Oseetah, in Water-Lily Legend. I. 33 

Oseetah Lake (Miller's Pond), I. 41 

Osgood, Iddo, I. .347 

Osier, Dr., I. 2.53 

Osprey Island, I. 199; II. 95. 113 

Otis, Dr. Fessenden, I. 246 

Otter Creek, 1.99 

"Overlook," 1.379 

" Owl's Head Inn." II. 30 

Oxbow Tract, 1.81 

Oxen, I, 299; II, 4 

Palmer Hill, I. 268 

Palmer's Purchase, I, 80 

Pamphlet, Amos Dean's, II, 69 ... 

Panama Canal, first suggested by Champlain. 

I, 9 
Paradox Pond, I, 374, 376, 383 
Paradox Tract, I, 80 
Park, see Adirondack 
Park Avenue. II, 126 
Park Street Church (Boston), I, 190 
Parker, George C, II. 43 



378 



Parks, private, II, 148 
Parton, Arthur, II, 43 
Parton, Ernest, II, 43 
Patrol system, II. 226 



INDEX 



Patrol system, II. 226 
Pattpn, Henry, II, 159 

%"lil?o^^"c^oSa^ir ^'^'^ '""^ ^''^^ "«» 

mafe^' n,!!' Pf il'°°l:*° b"-'! dams, II, 219; 



_ ' , — • t'^-"-i""o I.U uuiia aams, il. 21' 

Po^s^d^ t2?i:°^.?,r.?L^*>'-..iL9_^ petition ^p- 



Pa'y"ni?le'n^jS^S Yfy^*' w.ns^suit^lsa'^^' 

Payne, Betsy, II, 29 ' 

Payne, Henry C, II, 147 

Peacock, Thomas, supplies John Brown data, 

Sparse Edward L.. I, 317, 318 

60; 182 ' ''"°*^*^ ^^ *° ^"°° Phelps. II, 

Peck's Corners, II, 127 

pSTm^.^'h'^"'""'"-*^ 

piJSrit^'iT"!"*""'"'''' "■ ^ 

"Personal Reminiscences," II 84 

dack'°l"49'""^'°^' ^^''^ "^"^ ^^-^ ^'li^O"- 
Pettis. C. R., his career, II, 230 
Phantom FaUs " (Buttermilk), I, 198 

Ph^fpTFantli\T*'°^ ^^^^-'^•^ ^-^*- ^' S^ 
^'l!llJf^?'?°K^f^°^^,!'^ (0'^ Mountain), 

63 hi, honfi"'.°,'°l'*'"v."' ^■^■' ^'^ boyhood, 
faviifir ??!,'-^^' ^^^^ ^^'"'=y trail, 7^40, 54; 
tion of by Warner. 54; writes a poem 60- 

•' ^^yi^^ul'^'^^V^I^'^^^ ■' death of ,62 ' 

ni^P.l'anthropin," The, I. 103. 1Q4 

Phi hps, Wendell. II, 15. 16 

Philosophers' Camp, The, 

popular name of Adirondack Club I 172- 
gathlr'in'^'^yl'H ''* *?^''"^' 1/2; date of first 
Th^ A^^r., I ' 'ies^'ption of, in Emerson's 

son at 78 °T?"°*^^ ^^ ^° ''""tine of Emer- 
Stnii^L il^ ^""^""^ notebook sketch of 
btillman, 179;Agassiz at, 179; Lowellat ISO 
Judge Hoar at, 180; Prof. Vi^yman at ifo^ 
182- Dr° F,Vh^-^^ = "°^^*'° Woodman at 
iff: Stilfr^^l^"''^!^*- '«4; John Holmesat. 
the 'ri,,/.^ ^ water-color sketch of. 186- 
Vn„ n u ''"^^ Ampersand Pond. 187- Dr 
cfubh°ol'se.T8°9*^'^ ^^ *° ^"'^ «^ Amp'eVsa^d- 

" w'qfn"''^"' ^*™P' The," an essay by James 
W.^St.llman.n Th. Old Rome and "^IheN^wX 

Pierce, Capt. Jas. H., 

lor!^t\T/oPS'jt'2^- ''■' chairman of 
Pines. Knotted, on Indian Carry. 1, 28 

fed'to^r?!" "^ ^''«-'"«- Valley," re- 
Pioneers of Saranac Lake, 

Piseco, II, 133 

^*l\%2^^^^' ^^"^tions and derivations. I 

Pisgah, Mt., I, 251 

Pttley, Mr., foreman of SheflBeld Works. 1, 141 

"Plains of Abraham," I, 347 
Planting, see Trees 
Piatt. Miss, II. 43 
Piatt. Thomas, C, II, 78 

155 ^^P''"°'«''' Plattsburgh named after, I, 
Plattsburgh, I. 155 



Heasant Lake, II, 129 

Plumbley(" Honest"), John. I 197 ior. k,- t 

sketch of. footnote. 200 ' ' ^^ ^^^' ^"^' 

Wumley, Jeremiah, first child in Long Lake. II, 

Pomeroy. M. M.. II.'l59 

Pond. Chief Game Protector, is removed, II, 

Porter, Dr. Noah, II, 45 

PnfJ%^K"°**'° (^est Mountain), II 45 

Pos Offic.'^^\'°''^^^ Herreshoff'sdeath I. 109 

'^7e^nce°f''lr°*'^" °^ John Bro'^ of'pr'o'vi- 

KaTGe^rge'D^? ""^ °^ ''''■ '' '^ 

first Conservation Commissioner, II. 168- 
his fitness for the ofBce, 242- educatiinni 
propaganda.242;solvesthesq4'tterpfoWem! 

Pratt, H. M., I, 380 

Preacher's Hill (Trudeau, N. Y.) I 2flR 97n 

Prescott, Miss Mary R.. I, 240 ' ^ 

Preston Ponds Club, I 148 

" PHm A''"'^?.''" ^"^y settler of Jay. I, 340 

his Some Forgotten Place Names i„ the Adi- 
sStt'll'^Sr'' '■ ''■' --*« '^^'tcVe'll 
PrivateParkLaw.il, 145 
i'roctor. Emily Dutton. I, 240 
Proctor, Redfield, Jr., I 240 
Prospect House, the (Blue Mountain) first 
.hoteltouseelectnclight.il, 103 ^* * 

P,Wn°J;C^^*T^i'"^^'" Saranac Inn, I. 318 
Pulpwood Industry, the, water slides, II, 167 
Purchase of Forest Lands, plea for 11 I7s 

ofli^Zh **°°t*>^y. early article The Wilds 
oj Northern New York quoted, I, 128-129 

Race, a prehistoric, II. 113 

Radford, Harry V. (" Adirondack Harry ") 

n7'-^h,-?h°fK''^"^^''^'°" Newcombroad. I. 

3^-^av'^^.yo^?Kf^L«|;^JS^^^ 
f?!i^Tffii-K^^^^-|04^S 
paisn to restore „„o,e. 205; h , Moo,, bTi 

ship with Adirondack" Murrav 2n» W 
biographical sketch of Murray ^U' start's^n 

Rainbow Inn, I ^i ' *• ^"^^ ^«i 

^Ttl^'l?44^''°°*''y' ^"PP''^ Keene Valley 
Raquet'te Lake 

„ 88!°?e t^To^^^' "• ««: «-tTe?tre?s"o;. 
o'f"!"^ ^"^^ ^°""^' '°'=^*i°". "■ 89: register 



Raqnette Pond, II, 140 

Raquette River, description of, I, 42 



INDEX 



379 



Raybrook, II, 126 

Read, Minerva M., I. 215 

Reception Hospital (Saranac Lake), I, 240 

Redfield, W. C, I, 152; quoted as to Avalanche 
Lake, 163 

Register, the Lake Raquette House, II, 89 

Registration, guides, II, 250 

Reid, Miss Ella, footnote, I, 320 

Reid, Whitelaw, II, 22 

Reid, Mrs. Whitelaw, I, 257 

" Reign of Terror," the, II, 147 

Remsen Tract, I. 81 

Reports, Forest Commission (or State), 

for complete list, II, 299; for details refer to 
mention of report under correspondingannual 
date in Chap. XLIV 

Resolution, Brooks, II, 171; Merritt-O'Neil 
222; Merritt, 232 

Revolution, the, II, 125 

Reynolds, Charley, I, 331 

Reynolds, Judge John H., I, 223 

Reynolds, Reuben, I, 237 

Rhinelander, Fred., formerly Rylander, I, 60 

Rhode Island College, became Brown Uni- 
versity, I, 90 

Rice, Fred W., St., I, 307 

Rice, Levi, II, 127 

Rice's Hotel, bought by C. H. Wardner. I, 24 

Rich, Mr., I, 267 

Richards, George H., 

his Memoir of Gen'l Macomb referred to. I, 
63; quoted, 66 

Richards, Orson, II, 155 

Ricker, Freeman A., I, 267 

Riddle, D.W., I. 319 

Ridenoar, John S., I, 235 

Riggs, Mr. (of " Rigg's Hotel "), I. 226 

River Improvement Commission, 

created, II, 216; receives petition to dam 
streams, 219; Mr. Choate's findings. 221 

Rivers, Miss Frances M., became "Adiron- 
dack" Murray's second wife, I. 191 

Riverside Inn (Saranac Lake), see Blood's 
Hotel 

Roads, Old Military, three, 
misconception of, II, 123; early maps show- 
ing, 123; course of southerly, 123; course of 
central, 123; act concerning central, 123; rail- 
road folder and central, 124; English flee 
along, 125:courseof Northerly, 126;old name 
contracted to, 128 ; Act concerning southerly, 
129; names fattened by tradition, 129 

Roaring Brook Tract, I, 80 

Roberts, Susan E., I. 223 

Roberts, W. F., I, 238 

Robertson, Archibald, I. 141 

Robinson, B. and H., I, 155 

Roblee, Ike, I. 3.34 

Roch, Valentine, I, 273 

Rockefeller, William, 

buys land at Brandon, II, 144; builds at Bay 
Pond, 144; goes to court, 145; is well guarded, 
146; the post office incident, 147 

Rogers, Capt. Robt., 
destroyed Indian village, I, 27; Life of, by 
Caleb Stark, 27 

Rogers, James, I, 340 

Rogers Pulp Co., II. 157 

Romeyn, Dr. J. R., 

the fisherman, I, 316; oldest patron at Bart- 
letfs, 316 

Roosevelt, Theodore, 

his ascent of Mt. Marcy, I, 155; his ntght ride 
from the Tahawus Club to North Creek, 156; 
memoria' on road where he became President, 
157: consults Comptroller Morgan, II. 201; 
cleans house, 208; his forest record, 207 

Root, Hon. Elihu, II, 190 

Root, Russell, I. 145 

Rose, Heloise Durant, II, 90 

Round Lake, I, 311 

Round Pond (Kushaqua), I, 41 

Ruisseanmont, The, erection of. 1, 378; de- 
stroyed by fire, 379 

Russell, II, 129 



Rustic Lodge, 

'M^kIZV \' ^-^^' "° ''"^''^ 8^0""d there. 
^4, Knotted pines near, 28 

St. Anthony, I, 45 

St^Aranack, probable derivation of Saranac, I, 

St. Armand, I, 45 

St. Hubert's Inn (Beede's), 

l..cation of, II 48; sold to Adirondack Club, 

Stf'dubeTt's fsle 'ut'' *'= °"^'" °' '''""'• ^^ 
St.John,E.H..II.68 

St. John's Clearing," II, 68 
St. John's in the Wilderness, I, 328; II. 127 

St. Lawrence County, History of," II, 130 
bt. Lawrence Turnpike, 1, S6; II, 129 
St- Luke's Church (Saranac Lake), I. 239; II. 

St. Regis Palls, II, 137 

St. Regis Lake, I, 255 

Sabattis, Captain Peter (Pierjoun), 

remarkable age, II. 81; traits, 81; J. T. Head- 
ley referred to, 81 ; a long trip by. 82; family 

Sabattis, (guide, Mountain, P. O.), I 43 

Sabattis, Hannah, II, 82 

Sabattis, Mrs. Peter, II, 82 

Sabattis, Mitchell (Reverend), II, 76; famous 
guide, 81; remarkable ancestry, 81; born at, 
82; traits, 83; his wife, 83; large family of, 83; 
gets $2,000 for church, 84; tribute from J. T. 
Headley, 84; the mortgage, 85-86; later life 
and death, 87; 112 

Sable Iron Co., The, I, 340 

Sachs, Dr. II, 45 

Sackett's Harbor & Saratoga R. R. Co., 

buys T. & C. townships, 1 , 60 ; plans extension 
to Adirondack Iron Works, 147 

Sacondaga River, II, 129 

Sagamore, the, II, 79 

Sagamore Lake (Shedd), II. 93 

Sage, Dean, II. 45 

Sagendorf, Walter, I, 233 

Sales, 
law permitting land, II, 180; act permitting 
timber, 184 

Salmon River, I, 45; II, 152 

Samoa, I, 281 

Sampson, Moses, I, 347 

Sanborn, F. B., 

quoted as to John Brown, II, 4; helps Joha 
Brown, 9 

Sandanona, I, 45 

Sanders, Daniel, I, 323 

Sandidge, Colonel, II, 39 

Sandy Hill, II. 154 

Sanford, Lake, I. 136, 141, 149 

Sanford, Major Reuben, 

booms Wilmington, I, 343; his public career, 
344 

Santa Clara, the station, II, 142; the rich man 
of, 142 

Santa Clara Lumber Co., II, 139, 155, 203 

Saranac, 

possible origin in Gilliland's Journal. I, 18; 
hamlet in Clinton County, 44 

Saranac Club, The, organization, I, 317; offi- 
cers. 317 

" Saranac Exiles," 

by Dr. Lundy. described and discussed, I, 
228; quoted. 230 

Saranac Inn (Hough's), . ^.^ 

location, I, 317; erection, 317; early diffi- 
culties. 318; land purchases by, 318 

Saranac Lake Free Library, I, 239 

Saranac Lake Golf Club, I, 239 

Saranac Lake National Bank, I, 237 

Saranac Lake Village, ^ .. .r ■ 

origin of name discu.'^sed. I, 44-45; its geogra- 
phical complexity, 213; its pioneers, 21.3-226; 
in i8j6. 227; Dr. Trudeau's advent, 227; 
Dr. Lundy's book Saranac Exiles described, 
228; quoted. 230; early names for. 232; first 
stores in, 232; first church in, 232; first board- 



380 



INDEX 



Saranac Lake Village— Co«/in« erf 
ing houses in, 232; the Bloods and "Blood's 
Hotel," 233: the •'Evans Cottage," 233; 
shooting of George A. Berkeley, 234; build- 
ings in, enumerated, 235; newspapers pub- 
lished in, 235 ; first senator f ron' , 235 ; reasons 
for growth of, 236; incorporation of. 236; 
national banks in, 236; first drugstore in, and 
developments, 237; first telephone service in, 
and developments, 237; first schools in, and 
developments, 238; first library in, and de- 
velopments, 239; Boys' Club, 240; General 
Hospital, 240; Reception Hospital, 240; 
Board of Trade, 240; Board of Health, 240; 
altitude and climate of, 240; Prof. Hunting- 
ton quoted as to advantages of variable 
climate, 241 ; no danger from contagion in, 242 

Saranac Lakes (Upper and Lower), I, 44 

Saranac River, 1,44 

Saratoga County, in Forest Preserve, I. 4 

Saratoga Springs, placed under Conservation 
Commission, II, 245 

Saturday Club, The, story of its founding, I, 
181-182 

Sautbier, 

his map of 1777 shows Tryon and Charlotte 
Counties, 1,13; marks dawn of definiteness, 
13 

Sauthier's map, I, 14 

Scanlon, Mrs. F. M., Keene Valley records, II, 
32 

Scaron, Lake (Schroon), on Sauthier's map, I, 
13 

Scarron, Madame, I, 46 

Schofield, Peter F., supplies data, II, 163 

School, early records of Keene Vallev, II. 33 

Schools, in Saranac Lake, I, 227, 2.38 

Schroon (Lake, River, Mountain), 

described, I, 45; derivation of, 45-46; 
" Madame Skaron " theory, 46 

Schroon River, II, 152 

Schuyler, Dr. Clarkson, C, hurries to Albany, 
II, 195 

Scofield, Josephine, II, 25 

Scott, Martha, I, 348 

Scott, Mary H., married Andrew J. Baker, I. 
226 

Scott, Robert G., 

builds pioneer hotel, I, 348; his appearance, 
348; adopts two little girls. 348 

Scott's Hotel, first Inn near Lake Placid, I, 348 

Scott's Ponds, I. 167 

Scribner, Charles, I, 273 

Scudder's "Life of Lowell," mentioned, I. 184 

Seamon, F. A., I, 380 

Seaver, Fred J., 

his Historical Sketches of Franklin Co. quoted 
about lead mine, I, 25; his sketches referred 
to. footnote. 74 

Section 7, Article VII, 

abuses leading up to, II, 187; Mr. Gardner's 
remark, 188; special committees appointed, 
188; the "forestry bigots," 189; approach of 
Constitutional Convention, 189; first draft of 
Amendment prepared, 189; nucleus of 
Amendment, 190; document carried to Al- 
bany, 190; conference in Speaker's room, 190; 
Mr. Choate's remark, 190; Amendment in- 
troduced, 190; special committee named, 
191; amendment boiled down, 191; "de- 
stroyed" added, 192; revised amendment 
presented, 192; unanimously adopted. 192; 
Mr. Martin's lucky 7. 192; vote at the polls, 
193; goes into effect, 194; attempt to antici- 
pate, 194; hearing before Land Board, 194; 
injunction served, 194; hasty meeting of 
Forest Commission called, 195; special train 
for absent member, 195; grant given to rail- 
road, 196; indignation and injunction, 196; 
first proposed amendment of, 198; defeat, 
199; Commissioner's letter acts as a boomer- 
ang. 199 ;attack on, /po4, 217; attack on, / 900, 
227; first modification of, 237; second modi- 
fication, of, 248; attack on, iqzo, 254; the 
struggle of the future, 255 



Settlement on No. 4, Historical Notes, II, 
260-271 

Sewall, Dr. Henry, I, 257 

Seward, Mt., I, 136; first ascent and measure- 
ment by Verplanck Colvin, II. 165 

Seymour, Gov. Horatio, I, 124, 215, 223; presi- 
dent of first Park Commission, II. 165 

Shaw, Dr., II, 58 

Shaw, Phebe, I, 140 

Shaw, Rev. James B., II, 45 

Shaw Robert (Rev.), II. 73, 82 

Shearson, Edward, I, 149 

Sheffield Works (England), I, 141 

Shene, Miss Kate, I, 314 

Shene, Martha, I, 314 

Sheppard, Jack, quoted as to Alvah Dunning, 
II, 117 

Sherman Lumber Company, II, 155 

Shore Owners Association of Lake Placid, The, 
Incorporators, I. 381; objects, 381 ; activities, 
382-383 

Short, James, I, 127; II, 161 

Shurtleflf, Roswell Morse, 

comes to Keene V'alley, II, 38; his fondness 
for sketching, 38; enlists in Civil War, 3S; 
taken prisoner, 38; his first flag taken and re- 
turned, 39; the Confederate flag incident, 39; 
his artistic love for the mountains, 40; his 
Adirondack visits and friends, 40; buys and 
builds at Keene Valley, 42; quoted as to 
Keene Valley. 47 

Shurtleff, Mrs. R. M. (Miss Halliday), II. 38 

Signal Hill, I. 355 

Sill, Louise Morgan, II. 63 

Simms, Jeptha R., his Trappers of New Vork. 
referred to. I. 121; quoted, 122 

Sing Sing Prison, I. 223 

Sisson, see Litchfield 

" Skanadario," I. 378 

Skating (in connection with R. L. S.), I, 282 

Skinner, C. M., his Myths and Legends of Our 
Own Land quoted, five legends transcribed, 
I. 29-33 

Slash, Railroad, II, 226 

Smillie, George, II, 43 

Smillie, James, II, 43 

Smith, David, I, 135 

Smith, Dr. Normand, II, 43, 45 

Smith-Gardner Bill, II. 239 

Smith, Gerrit, I. 269. 347; II, 3 

Smith, Henry, I. 341 

Smith, Paul (Apollos), 

dean of guides and hotelmen. I. ."JSO; the bell- 
boy story, 321 ;his land purchases, 322; birth 
and boyhood, 322; his second hotel,. 323; buys 
more and more land, 324; his fortunate mar- 
riage, 325; buys Franklin Falls Hotel, 325; 
his three sons, 325 ; death of his wife, 325 ; his 
devotion to her, 326 ; increasing Corporations, 
326; hobby, traveling, 326; wonderful vital- 
ity, 327; inborn shrewdness, 327; sunny 
skepticism, 327; illness, death aud burial, 328 

Smith, Paul (Mrs.), I, 326 

Smith, Paul, Jr., I, 325 

Smith, Peter, I, 347 

Smith, Phelps, Jr., I, 325 

Smith, Phelps, Sr., I. 322 

Smith, Robert, I, 270 

Smith's Lake (Lake Lila), I. 135 

Smithsonian Institute, I. 209 

Snyder, Chas. E., 

his paper on Brown's Tract referred to. I. 88; 
quoted. 101 

Snyder, O. L., II. 159 

Snyder, " Tony," guide. I. 143. 144 

"Some Forgotten Place Names in the Adiron- 
dacks," quoted, I. 35 

" Song of Tahawus, The" (Alfred L. Donald- 
son). I. 1.59 

"Spafford's Gazetteer," quoted as to height of 
Whiteface. I, 154 

Spartali, Michael, father-in-law of Wm. J. 
Stillman, I, 174 

Spaulding, T. N., I. 234 

Sperry, Sanford, I, 127 



INDEX 



381 



Spinner, Francis, I, 223 
Spooner place, the, II, 44 
Spring Green Farm, I, 92 
Spruce Hill, I, 334 
Spuyten Duyvil. I, 64-65 
Squatter problem, solved, II, 243 
Squires, Henry C, II. 159 
Squires, Perley J., I, 333 

Stael, Madame de, buys Adirondack lands, I, 
86 

Stage-coach, the early, I. 330 

SLage-drivers, list of, I, 330-331 

Stage-routes, the main, I, 333 

Stanley (H. M.), I, 11 

Stark, Caleb, his Life of Capt. Robert Rogers 
referred to, I, 27 

State Highway Amendment, for road from 
Saranac Lake— Old Forge. II, 24S 

State Highway from Saranac Lake to Long 
Lake and Old Forge, II, 77 

State HosDital, Raybrook, I, 258 

State Land Board, II, 194 

State Land Survey, II, 174 

State lands, 

withdrawn from sale, II, 172; first appropria- 
tion for purchase of, 172; act prohibiting sale 
of, 172; State Land Survey begun, 174; plea 
for purchase of, denied, 178; leasing of, first 
recommended, 179; sale of, permitted, 180; 
law repealed inl<?92, 180; leasing amendment 
fails, 180; exchange of and leasing authorized, 
183; act giving power to sell timber, 184; de- 
struction of buildings on. 217; private funds 
for lands near Lake Placid, 249; list of, 256 

State Park Commission, II, 163. 165, 169, 170, 
171 

State Water Supply Commission, II, 223 

Stetson, R. R., II, 48 

Stevens, E. P., II, 21 

Stevens, Curtis, I, 356 

Stevens, George, 

early career of. I, 355; hotel partnership with 
brother, 355; local and State popularity, 356; 
illness, death and burial, 356 

Stevens Henry C, I, 357 

Stevens, Hubert, I, 356 

Stevens, John A., 

his health and trade, I, 355; hotel partnership 
with brother. 355; becomes village president, 
356; death of, 356 

Stevens, Paul, I, 356 

Stevens, Raymond, I, 356 

Stevens, W. Hudson, 

his pamphlet on *' No. 4." referred to, I, 134; 
see Appendix B., II, 260-271 

Stevens House, The, (Excelsior House), 

built by Joe Nash, I, 354; beautiful location 
of, 354; sold to Stevens, 1877, 354; unique 
record of, 354; destroyed by fire, 18S7, 354; 
rebuilt in part, 354; frame blows down, 354; 
the famous "bee," 354 

Stevenson, Mrs. M. I., her Letters quoted. I, 
281, 287 

Stevenson, Robert Louis, 

in Saranac Lake, I, 273; arrival and de- 
parture, 273; offer from Scribner's for 12 
essays, 273; probability that all were written 
in Saranac Lake, 274; The Master of Bal- 
lantrae, 275; The Wrong Box and other 
works, 276; complete list of what he wrote in 
Saranac Lake, 277; where he stayed in Saranac 
Lake, 278; his letter about " Baker's " quoted, 
278; routine at "Baker's," 279; the Ehrichs 
and Coopers, 280; his northern aloofness and 
southern unbending compared, 281; his skat- 
ing on Moody's Pond, 282; scant mention of 
skating in his works, 282; his freaks of sup- 
pression, 283; his health at Saranac Lake, 
284; his friendship with Dr. Trudeau, 284; 
the laboratory episode, 285; Trudeau quoted 
as to, 285: the Trudeau edition of, 286; the 
Trudeau dedications 286, Bandmann's visit 
and the Mansfield myth, 287; changes in the 
Baker Cottage, 288; Memorial tablet of, by 
Gutzon Borglum, 288 



Stevenson Cottage, I. 278 
Stevenson Lane, I, 278 
Stevenson Society, The 

meTtmroflsg""''''"""' '' 288; firstannual 

^^'f^J'nl. p'- ■f?!,^P^ ^- ^'^ Adirondacks as a 

S.i^^J.^Lff'^^r'^'^'2^^ 

^"&ble;i:i36^"^''"^ ^- -f« °f George 

StiUman, Michael, I, 174, 186 

Stillman, Thomas Bliss, I, 173 

Stillman, William James, 

Ris Autobiography of a Journalist referred to 
1.172;quoted,174.176;sketchofhislife, 173; 
projector and manager of "Philosophers' 
.Tfr,™^'7o^ u^' "°tebook sketch of, by Emer- 
r .. 'i"^ water-color of "Philosophers' 

<-amp 186; commissioned to buy Amner- 
sand Pond, 187 

StUlmanBay, I, 175 

Stoddard, photographer, I, 208; II. 106 

Stoddard's map, I. 340 
Stoddard's Northern Monthly," footnote, I. 

Stokes, Anson Phelps, I. 2.'')5 

Stone beaches, the Long Lake, II. 76 

Stoner, Nicholas, I. 118; II, IOC, 107, 161 

Stonywold Sanatorium. I. 41 

Store, firrt in Saranac Lake. I. 224 

Storey, Prof, (of New York). I. l.')2 

Storrs, Joseph, a pioneer of jay, I, 339 

" Story of Mitchell Sabattis, The," II. 84 

Stott, Miss Janet L., II, 91 

Stottcamp, II. 94 

Strauss, Nathan, I, 308; II. 185 

Street, Alfred B., quoted as to Indian Carry. I, 

24, 153, 164, 166, 215. 223 
Street, Thomas George, e:p!oring companion 

of Harry V. Radford, I. 211 
Streeter, Jemima, I, 118 
Streeter, Mr., I, 233 
Strong, Mrs. Isobel, I. 277. 289 
Sturges, Rev. Philemon F., footnote. I, 259 
Sullivan County, in Forest Preserve, I, 4 
Summit Water (Lake Tear-of-the-Clouds), I, 

162 
" Sunnyside," I, 377 
Swain Camp, I, 308 
Sweeney Carry, I, 23; fight for possession of, 

Swenson, Eric P., II. 206 

Swenson, E. P. & S. A., buy Indian Carry, I, 23 

Sylvester, N. B., 

quoted, I, 12, 13; quoted as to North Elba. 27; 
quoted as to Indian burying-ground, 28; 
quoted as to Watson's Tract, 87 

Table, see List 

Tahawus, Indian name for Mt. Marcy, I, 47 

Tahawus Club, I, 148, 165; II, 159 

Tahawus House, the, II, 42 

Tahawus (P. O.), I, 149 

" Tahawus, The Song of," (Alfred L, Donald- 
son), I, 159 

Tait, A. F., II, 41 

" Tallow Lakes," the, II, 101 

" Tamaracks, The," I, 380 

Taylor, Daniel, I. 143 

Taylor, Lady, 1.274 

Taylor, Livingston, II. 31 „„ .„„ 

Tear-of-the-Clouds, Lake, I, 155, 162, 163, 166 

Telephone development in Saranac Lake, I, 237 

Ten Eyck camp, II, 94 

Tender, Alexis, I. 347 

Terry, George E, II, 79 

Thacher, Major, II. 103 

"Thames Tunnel, I. 84 

"The Porcupine," name of Thomas Bailey 
Aldrich house in Saranac Lake, I, 290 

Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, first modern atlas, 

Thendara (Fulton Chain), I, 128 
Thomas, Almon, II, 155 
Thompson, Andrew, I. 149 



382 



INDEX 



Thompson, Frank, II. 13 

Thompson, Henry, II, 5, 7 

Thompson, Henry (Mrs.), Ruth Brown, II, 5, 9, 
10, 22 

Thompson, James R., I, 148 

Thompson, John 1, 347 

Thompson, Leander, II, 18 

Thompson, R., I, 347 

Thompson, Wordsworth, II, 43 

Thorpe, Thomas Bangs, his John Brown's 
Tract quoted, his description of "Arnold's," 
I, 130-132 

Thresher, Aaron, drove herd of sheep from 
Providence to Brown's Tract. I. 109 

Thurman, John R., I. 216 

" Tight-Nipping " Road, II, 36 

Tilden, Samuel J.. favors the grant to railway, 
11.195 . ^ 

Tillier, Rodolphe, agent for Chassanis Tract, 1. 
85 

Timbrel, Miss Heloise Hannah, II, 90 

Todd, Dr. John, . , 

as to Long Lake. II, 64; his education, 64; 
preaches, 64; visits Long Lake, 65; first ser- 
mon at Long Lake, 65; organizes a church, 
66; quoted as to guide-boats, 79; referred to, 
130, 1.33 

Todd, Dr. John E., Jr., II, 64 

Toll Gate, the, I. 334 

Tomlinson, T. A., buys Comstock s interests, 
I, 336 _ 

"law, II. 226; penalty repealed, 236; penalty 
restored, 240 

Topographical Survey, II, 165, 169 

Torrey, Asa, I, 152 

Totten and Crossfield Purchase, 

a Colonial Grant, I, 51; named after ship- 
wrights. 61; also called Jessup's Purchase. 
51; original application for, 54; earlier 
grant to Jessup's, 55; ceremonies of signing, 
55; price paid Indians, 55; fees to the Crown, 
55: delay in issuing patents, 56; petition for 
relief, 66; loyalty made a condition, 56; 
Edward Jessup and His Descendants quoted. 
56; Letters Patent never issued, 57; "asso- 
ciates" meet and ballot, 57; list of township 
drawings, 67; towijahips surveyed by Eben- 
ezer Jessup. 57; diagonal slant of lines, 57; 
Revolution ends negotiations. 57; petition for 
re-allotment by State, 58; list of new paten- 
tees, 58-59; Rylander township, 60; Brand- 
reth township, 60; lumbering on the latter, 
60; Macomb a patentee. 60; sale to R.R. Co.. 
60; places lying within, 61; Indian deed of 
Totten and Crossfield Purchase, II, 257 

Tousley, Mrs. H. H., I, 219 

local definition of, I. 5-6; of North Elba, 5-6; 
of Harrietstown. 5-6; of Elizabethtown, 5-6 
Township, local definition of , I, 6 

Old 'Military Tract, I, 78; Lesser. 80-81; 

Chassanis. 82-86; Watson's. 86 
Train. AbnerL., II. 179 , , ^ ^„^ 

"Trappers of New York," referred to, 1, 121; 

quoted, 122 

'pfa^nting. II. 209. 217. 221, 222; selling, 223. 

225; list of, 285 
Tremble, Frank G., I, 333, 336 
Tremble, Fred T., I, 336 
Tremble, George, ^ ^ , j 

appointed manager for Peter Comstock, 1, 

3.36; marries Miss E. D. Stickney, 336; 

children, 336 
Tremble, Henry B., I, 336 
Tremble, Marion D., I, 336 
Tremble, Mary E., I, 336 

Trembley, Dr. C. C., I. 240. 257 _ , , .„ 
Tromblee, Oliver, in Sweeney Carry fight, 1, 48 
Trotman, J. C.,II, 43 
"Troy Times," footnote, I. 22 
Trudean, Dr. Edward Livingston, 

his Autobiography referred to, 1, Zi6; 



author's first meeting with, 243-244; his birth 
and parents, 244; his schooling in Paris, 245; 
his return to New York, 245; enters Naval 
Academy, 245; nurses brother who died of 
consumption. 245; drifts back to life of idle- 
ness, 246; falls in love, 246; studies medicine, 
246; marrries Miss Beare, 246; forms partner- 
ship with Dr. Otis, 246 ; develops tuberculosis, 
246; ordered South, 246; returns worse. 247: 
goes to Paul Smith's, 247; visited by E. H. 
Harriman, 247; goes to St. Paul for winter, 
248; returns to Adirondacks. 248; trip from 
Malone in blizzard, 249; moves to Saranac 
Lake. 250; his friendship with Fitz Greene 
Halleck, 250; his skill with a gun, 250; his 
dexterity in boxing. 251; his favorite runway 
for foxes. 251; his interest in curing tuber- 
culosis aroused, 252; repeats Koch's experi- 
ments, 253; discovers tuberculin, 253; his 
house burns, 253; Mr. Cooper offers to build 
laboratory, 254; work at the laboratory, 254; 
projects Sanitarium. 255; builds "Little 
Red " in 1884, 256; " Trudeau, N. Y." to-day. 
256; strucrgle of the early years, 256; his 
religion, 259; his love for his wife, 259; his 
statue by Borglum, footnote. 258; personal 
bereavements, 260; public honors and de- 
grees, 260; hunting-lodge at Little Rapids, 
261; paper on Optimism in Medicine. 262; 
how he wrote it, 263; his "upper porch." 263; 
his little dog Ho- Yen, 264; his death and 
funeral. 264-265; quoted as to Stevenson's 
health, 284; quoted as to Stevenson's charm, 
285; his contact with Stevenson, 285; con- 
trasted with Stevenson, 285; his set of Steven- 
son's works and their dedications. 286 

Trudeau, Dr. Edward L., Jr., I, 260 

- - - -».,fc 



Trudeau, Dr. Francis B., footnote. I. 259, 260 

Trudean, Dr. James, I. 244 

Trudeau, N. Y., see Adirondack Cottage Sani- 



Trudeau Sanatorium, see Adirondack Cottage 
Sanitariimi 

Trudeau School of Tuberculosis, I, 258 

Trumbull, Melville, II, 46 

Tyron, Dwight, II, 41 

Tryon, Gov., his map of /77J. I. 12, 65, 56 

Tryon County, , , ^ 

on Sauthier's map, I. 14; named after Gov. 
Tryon, 14; exact boundaries of, 14; stirring 
events in. 15; Sir Wm. Johnson in_, 15; Dutch 
emigrants in. 15; the Palatines in, 15; An- 
nals of Tryon County referred to, 16; effect 
of war on, 16; name changed to Montgomery. 
16; old boundary discovered, 17; in connec- 
tion with T. & C. Purchase. 55 

Tubercle bacillus, discovery of, I, 253 

Tuberculin, discovery of I, 253 

Tucker, Preble, I. 381 

Tupper Lake Junction, II, 140 

Tupper Lake Village, I. 47 

Tupper Lakes, I. 47-48 „ ,„ 

Twichell, Rev. Joseph, II. 34. 45. 46. 58. 59 

Ulster County, in Forest Preserve. I, 4 

Uncas Lake (Mohegan), II, 93 

" Uncle Palmer's," I. 199 

" Under the Hemlocks," II, 95 

"Undercliff." I. 378 

Union Falls. I. 326 

UpperHudson, II, 152 .. to,o 

"Upper Saranac Association, The," I. 318 

Upper Works (Adirondac), I. 141. 142, 143 

"Utowana," the, II, 91 

Utowana Lake, I, 48; II, 100 

"Value of Optimism in Medicine," 

address by Dr. Trudeau, I, 262; writing and 

delivery of, 263 
Van Boskorck, Robert, II, 43 
Van Buren, President, II. 118 
Van Dyke, Dr. Henry, 

his Ampersand quoted. I, 39; quoted as to 

ruins of "Philosophers' Camp" on Amper- 



INDEX 



383 



van Hoevenberg Henry (Vaa|.^^.^^ ^^^^ 23; 

^"?fi^7^vnn Hack Lodge, 23; becomes super- 
bmlds Adirondack l.oage^ .^^^^^^^ 

l"rdt'irJf,^2'4^1ea|e'. su.tlof. 26; flight 
from burning Lodge 28 
Vanderbilt, ^Hred G^ U. a^^ 
Vanderbilt, William H., U. 14" 
Vardon. Harry, II, 94 
rr^ee?jl-sB.!f380 

^^ffilf orplaiTf^o?; i: 1^57 ; summary of first 
VmaX O^^^airoVrf o'nfVoted as to John 
Brown, II. 11 rim 

^°^b?rgt!sifah:sK- ol'cSer. I. 333 

^"on' Constitutional Amenlment. II. m. 
against new Amendment 199. ^^.^^_ ^43; 
|S.^dfsTur.'24f;VatrHighway Amendment, 
249 



Wager Tract, IL 161 
Walbridge. D. M., II. 43 
Walker, Luther, II. 33 

Erp/o-fir quoted 1,21^ 
^ftlrs\^miefB.,'!.^305.318.319 
Wardner, Chas. H., 03 • buys Rice's Hotel, 

^llffet^Tl'boWndiL'ca'rr^lead mine. 24 

Wardner, Jaines M., ,; i_ 22; his 

his. collection of Ind an r^^^^^_ ^2; sketch 
articles for 3/oy is'Kc^.' ^perty sold, 

of his life, fpotnof; ^Vgh't. footnote. 22; 
l°torTotlnfianandTeadn|ne,25 

Washbond,Henry,II,48 

Washbond's, II, 48 

Washburn. Jf^P-'f ' ^vf 30 
Washburn, William, H. 3U 



^PUttsb^urg lumber king. I. 324; his valuable 

ore beds, II, 136 ,. 

Weed, W. R., favors the grant to railway, 11, 

Weir, Alden,II,43 

Wells, William, II, 29 

Wesleyan Methodist Church, II, 76 

West of Road Patent, I. 80 

wfst Moumain'fporter Mountain), II, 46 

Weston, Stephen F., II, ^'l 

Westside. The (Whiteface Inn), I, 379 

^SrfW^e'i!(of'Malone). I, 300 
'^^fcledI'M?dd^;^ton as Commissioner, II, 

218; criticized, 231 
White, Theodore, l,3Kd 
Whte Church, The, story of. I. 364 
Whiteface Inn (The Westside) I. 379 
Whiteface Mountain, I. 49. 338 

servation Law. II, 241 

Wicker, Dr. C.F., I. 236 
" Widow Beede's, IL 4» 
Wiggins, Carleton, II 43 
Wiggins,Hannah,1.2l/ 

Prof. Emmons, 1. 3^ ,,„ >i tt Rfl 
"Wniie Allen's egg-sheUs."n. 80 

Willsboro, I, 20 

Wilmington, 343; location of. 343; 

^arTest s^tKf 3I3; Black Brook skirmish. 
wll'r^ingttn Notch, I 331.343 

Wilmurt,Townot, 11. 'o __ 
Wilson's Lake footnote. I. 377 

Wood, G. H., II. 227 
Wood, Halsey, I. 379 
Wood, Jetoffle'/Z's?* 

«;«aV,\.nr'^-^^^^^^^-"''' 

Woodhull Tract, 1,81 
^"ft^'P^l^loShers^Camp." I. 182; or 



Washburn, >^"'^'?>' ^ £.,1. 139 
Washburne, Mrs. Geo. ig, 

Washington County, I. lb 

.. Water Lily,'' The, ^^t^^, i 306; 

tef bu^rdrn?and°c"artr 307; taken to Lake 

Wrtsot'j'ames Talcot, sketch of his career. I. 

Wats'on, Winslow C., champlain Valley re- 
his Pioneer «,'^ "'.^•."^HisJo^v of Essex Co., 
ferred to. I. l^A'Vlba 27; his History of 
Tsfefc^Vlnotlf'Strn.n.r.X wealth of 

Essex County. 136 
Watson's Tract, eg. gylvester quoted. 8' 

description ot. 1. oo, >Ji' 
Wawbeek Hotel, 48- location of. 48; fight 

rrrn«Ttg-_of.;48-49 
ZlThtTe^^rS. 140; sues State for flood- 
..^Ib^^loolden Chariot Route." II. 141 



hp •' Philosophers '-''" i'; ..Voo 

Woodruff, R- E., 1. '"■^ 04 
Woods, Edward A., II. 24 

MacCabe,II,241 
World War, P- f^^^rveyor, I, 76 
W"g|jt' ?"„"iran I nsyil. 160 

Camp," I. 180 

fsket'to pay .1-^ ,C,^e of'ie^death^of , 12- 
K^fe^^^afnS John Brown grave. 22 



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